


Time of my life

by muddyrockxo



Category: Strictly Come Dancing RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Strictly Come Dancing Fusion, Best Friends, Book: Judges, F/F, F/M, Family, Friendship, Happy, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Love, M/M, New Family, One Big Happy Family, Pride, Tears, let's dance, this randomly came to me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:53:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 37
Words: 84,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24370873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muddyrockxo/pseuds/muddyrockxo
Summary: "Congratulations! You're the new judge!"When Motsi Mabuse flew to London to do a screen test for BBC 1's Strictly Come Dancing, she never imagined that she would actually be chosen as the new judge. But, whilst filming Let's Dance in Germany, she receives a call from the producers, telling her that she got the job.Motsi is beyond excited to begin the new series, and to meet everyone involved with the show, especially her fellow judges, Craig, Bruno and Shirley. But will her strictly experience really be as glamorous and as easy as some people may imagine it to be?
Relationships: Craig Revel Horwood/Undisclosed
Kudos: 3





	1. triumph stag

**Author's Note:**

> Two years ago, in February 2018, I began writing a 50-chapter fanfiction called Time of my Life. The story followed Shirley Ballas's first year on the strictly judging panel, and the experience she had judging alongside Craig, Darcey and Bruno and the challenges that she faced in terms of the public. 
> 
> I'd like to think that my writing style has developed and improved since then, so last year, I unpublished the story as I felt that my writing style was fairly childish and that the story as a whole was unplanned ( I never used to plan my stories at ALL) and in parts, unrealistic. 
> 
> Over the last couple of weeks, I've been thinking about things and I've made the decision to finally republish this story! The storyline, however, will be very different to what it was previously, and it will follow Motsi's first year on the panel (so 2019) NOT Shirley's. Therefore, Darcey will only make pop up appearances, and Motsi will be the main character, not Shirley. 
> 
> To any new readers, I sincerely hope that you enjoy this story, and to any readers who have stuck around with me since the old version of this story, I hope that my writing style has improved and that you enjoy it too 😂
> 
> I will attempt to publish chapters as regularly as possible. Hopefully, I will be able to do a weekly update or so on both this story and This Little Girl, my other current fanfiction. 
> 
> Without further ado, let's begin with the story! I hope that you will all come along on this journey with me and will enjoy it as much as I know I will. 
> 
> Much love, 
> 
> muddyrockxo ❤

Craig ❤: Motsi darling, are you ready? I'll be there to pick you up in twenty minutes!! 

Motsi finished tying up her hair into an elegant ponytail and reached for her phone, smiling as she read the sweet message. Typing back a response, she eyed herself in the mirror, and was satisfied with what she saw looking back at her.

Motsi 💃🏿: ready as I'll ever be! See you in twenty minutes Craig ❤

Today was a day that she had been looking forward to, but also been nervous about, for the last three months. It was the day that she met the three people that she was going to be working alongside from now till Christmas. 

When her sister Oti told her that the producers of Strictly Come Dancing were running screen tests for a new judge, Motsi was unsure whether or not to give it a go. She wanted the job so badly, she really did, but she wasn't sure whether she was the kind of person that they were looking for. Darcey, who had been on the panel for six years before deciding to leave to focus on her own personal projects, was quiet, demure, posh and a bit of an introvert- everything that loud, extrovert Motsi wasn't. 

She suspected the producers would want someone who was quiet and placid like Darcey, but she decided to fly over and go to that screen test. The worst thing that could happen, she told herself, was get told that she wasn't suitable and watch the job go to somebody else. 

Three weeks after her screen test, Motsi found herself backstage at Let's Dance, the German version of Strictly. She was having her make up done, ready for the live show, when her co judge Joachim Llambi alerted her to the fact that her phone was ringing. When she answered it, she received news that was to change her life forever. 

She only remembered five words from the call - the rest of it was just all such a blur. 

"Congratulations! You're the new judge!" 

Motsi had fully braced herself for failure, and could hardly believe that they wanted her as the new judge. Without hesitation, after composing herself slightly, she went and rang all of her closest friends and family to tell them the news, making sure to swear them to secrecy until the news became public. 

The last three months for Motsi had been, similarly to the night she found out, a blur. A blur of packing to move to England for five months, finishing filming the twelfth series of Let's Dance, and all sorts of other things besides. A week ago, she had finally moved into her new house in London, and today she was going to be meeting her co judges, Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas and Bruno Tonioli, for the first time. And although she was a little nervous about what they would think of her, especially as they knew that they were all so close with Darcey, she was beyond excited to meet them in the flesh at long last. 

With one last look in the mirror and a squirt of perfume, Motsi gathered up her handbag and her phone and went to wait outside for Craig to arrive. She slipped on a pair of large black sunglasses as an afterthought, not particularly wanting too much attention drawn to her today when she was trying to have a quiet lunch to get to know her new colleagues better. 

Exactly twenty minutes later, a Triumph Stag pulled up in front of her, and Motsi got to her feet. A tall, dark-haired man wearing a skull top and denim shorts got out of the vehicle, and ran round the other side to give her a hug. 

"Hello, darling!" Craig exclaimed, hugging her tightly. "It's so good to meet you at last!" 

Wow, so he really does put on a grumpy persona for the cameras, Motsi thought. 

"It's so good to meet you too!" Motsi grinned, and Craig could tell in those seven words that he was going to really like her. She wasn't Darcey, who he had been extremely close to, but she was definitely a character and he was excited to get to know her. 

"Shall we get going?" Craig asked, and Motsi nodded, climbing into the front passenger seat of the Triumph Stag and fastening her seatbelt. 

"Any music requests?" 

Craig reached over and pulled a whole box of CDs out from the glove compartment, which had literally everything from The Wiggles to Fleetwood Mac inside it. 

"Before you ask, no, I don't generally go around listening to the Wiggles," laughed Craig. "My nieces came over last summer, and I bought that CD because they're obsessed with them currently." 

"I've never heard of them," Motsi replied, as Craig began to drive. 

"Oh, they're Australian. It's a TV show about four Australian men and their friends, and each episode aims to teach the children an important lesson about things like friendship," Craig tried to explain, nodding as Motsi handed him a Queen CD. "Good choice." 

"Never watched it!" 

"I've watched it far too many times, I can literally quote it now. In fact, my nieces went to one of their concerts in Brisbane with their mum." 

"Ahhh, how lovely! So your family live in Australia?" 

"Yeah! We're all Australian!" 

"Wait... are you actually?" 

Craig broke into laughter at the shocked look on Motsi's face. He found it even funnier, because he saw that look way too often when he told people he was Australian. 

"I know I don't sound it- Everyone tells me that! But yep, I'm from a town called Ballarat, in Australia. I've just lived here for so many years that I've lost my accent. My boyfriend thinks that I get it back when I'm with my family, though." 

"Who's your boyfriend?" 

"Jonathan, his name is. I'll show you a picture of him when we get to the restaurant," Craig replied, . "Are you looking forward to meeting Shirley and Bruno? You've not met them before, have you?" 

"Nope. And yes, I am! I'm a bit nervous, though," Motsi admitted. 

"No need to be! They're super excited to meet you as well, darling," Craig said, swerving as a car nearly hit him and cursing. "I think you'll get on really well with both of them."

Motsi smiled as she leaned back in her seat, watching the world rush by through the window as Craig drove them to the restaurant. 

Craig was just as lovely as she had hoped he would be. 

And now she was even more excited for the strictly series to begin.


	2. wine-filled glasses

Five minutes later, Craig pulled up outside a small, cosy restaurant called The West Wing. This restaurant had been the obvious choice when they first discussed meeting Motsi over lunch - as it had also been the place where they first met Darcey. 

Craig still remembered the day that they first met Darcey as clearly as if it were yesterday. He remembered just how shy and quiet Darcey had been - it took a few weeks for her to properly come out of her shell and be entirely confident around them. Week 4 to be exact - the week she really won the public over. 

The first few weeks, the public had been rather irritated by the ballerina, as she had a habit of saying "yeah?" "yes?" or "yah?" after every single sentence she said. But she had worked really hard in week 4 to change it and that was the week she managed to go an entire show without saying either of the three words. 

Craig remembered how jubilant she had been after that show, running up to him and giving him a huge hug. From there, her confidence just grew and grew, and she was the very first one on the dance floor at the wrap party, begging Craig to dance to Dancing Queen with her. 

It had been a massive shock to Craig when she left. She told absolutely no one beforehand, although she did subtly hint at it a couple of times. Craig assumed that she didn't want the fuss that was made when Len left three years ago - she hated being the centre of attention, she had been embarrassed enough when they had done a dance to celebrate her becoming a Dame. 

It was announced on 10th April, and most people didn't see it coming. 

Craig was sad to see her go, admittedly, but he was more than happy for her at the same time. He knew how proud of Diverse Dance Mix she was and how much she wanted to focus on other projects, and he was happy that she was doing something that made her happy. Her happiness was the most important thing to him. 

"Shirley just texted me," Craig said, looking at his phone now that the car was parked, "they're already in there. Shall we go on in?" 

Motsi nodded excitedly, getting out of the car and beginning to follow Craig indoors. 

It took her a minute to spot Shirley and Bruno, but she eventually spotted them, sitting at a corner table. The two of them were laughing over something on Bruno's phone, but as soon as they saw Motsi and Craig arriving, they waved them over excitedly. 

"Introductions, introductions, darlings" laughed Craig, hugging his colleagues first - he hadn't seen them in nearly six months. The last time they had properly seen each other was at the night of the last show of the strictly tour - they had just been so busy with different things, and hadn't had any time to see each other. 

Craig had been in Australia and then travelling around the country in a production of Annie. Shirley had been backwards and forwards to Los Angeles, and Bruno had been doing the same- commuting, but they had all kept in contact throughout. 

"Shirley, Bruno, this is Motsi Mabuse. Motsi, these are Shirley Ballas and Bruno Tonioli." 

"Craig, you know, we have spoken through social media," Bruno laughed, getting up out his chair to hug his new colleague. "But anyway, it's so lovely to meet you at last, Motsi!" 

"Lovely to meet you too!" Motsi beamed. 

"Hello, Motsi! It's great to meet you, finally" Shirley grinned, hugging the younger woman. "How are you?" 

"I'm good, thank you," Motsi nodded, sitting down next to Craig, opposite Shirley and Bruno. "And you?" 

"Even better now you two have arrived," Shirley replied, gesturing to a waiter to bring over some menus. "So tell me, Craig. What have you been up to since we last saw one another?" 

"Well, I've literally just finished my run in Annie," answered Craig, "which was just fab-u-lous. I absolutely loved playing Miss Hannigan - I got to be either drunk or hungover in most scenes, which was quite fun." 

"You were amazing!" 

Bruno and Shirley had both been to see Craig in Annie, albeit on different dates. Shirley had made opening night, just as she had done in 2017, and Bruno had come to a date in the middle of the run, flying over especially. They had both absolutely loved it and they had been so proud to watch their colleague and close friend killing it on stage. 

"And before that, I obviously had Australia, and it was great to see my family again," Craig continued with a dreamy smile on his face. "Jonno had a great time too - my family absolutely adore him and I just loved taking him to all my favourite places. And Dancing With The Stars was great - I might have only been brought in a fortnight before the launch, but I had so much fun doing that." 

"We saw your team dance! You were amazing," Bruno thought back to the Annie- themed dance that Craig had done with Courtney Act and Jimmy Rees. Each judge had been given two couples to work with and they had had to create a dance and perform in it themselves. Craig's had ended up tying for first place, with his fellow judge Sharna Burgess's team getting the exact same score. 

"Oh, that was great," laughed Craig. "We had so much fun with that and Courtney and Jimmy were a pleasure to work with. Anyway, how have you guys been?" 

With that he gave Bruno and Shirley the cue to talk about what they had been up to these last few months. Shirley had climbed Kilimanjaro in an emotional seven day trek with other celebrities, and Bruno had been living his best life in Los Angeles, having parties and seeing all his friends. 

"I got a new house as well - let me show you," Bruno grinned, taking out his phone and typing in his password. 

"Hang on a minute-"   
"What?" Bruno asked, taking a sip of wine. 

"Since when were you and Jason Gardiner friends?!" 

At that, Bruno snorted, red wine spurting out his nose very unattractively. Realising he was drawing a lot of attention to himself, the Italian got to his feet and headed towards the bathroom, still coughing and spluttering. 

"Well... that was dramatic," Motsi broke the stunned silence that they were sat in.

"Oh, you can always count on Bruno to be dramatic!" Craig rolled his eyes, taking a sip of his Sauvignon Blanc. "Whatever was so funny about that, I don't even know." 

A few moments later, Bruno came back, hurriedly sitting down to disguise the fact that he had snorted red wine all over his white shirt. 

"Care to tell us what on earth that was about?" Craig rolled his eyes again as the Italian retook his seat. 

"Sorry about that, guys. It just made me laugh that you thought that Jason and I are just friends." 

"Well, you seemed pretty much like- wait, what?!" 

"Got it in one. Jason's my boyfriend." 

Craig looked as though he had seen a ghostly apparition on the wall behind Bruno, Shirley's face broke into a smile, and Motsi looked confused, having no idea who this Jason man was. 

"Sorry but.. who's this Jason?" Motsi asked, as their starters (prawn cocktail for her and Shirley, pate for Craig and bruschetta for Bruno) came around. "I've not heard of him before I don't think." 

"He's a judge on a TV show called Dancing On Ice," replied Bruno, beginning to eat hungrily, "and he's appeared in many, many TV shows and stage productions. And, although it may surprise some people, he's actually a lovely and very genuine person." 

"Bruno, I'm honestly so happy for you," Shirley beamed - and it was the truth, she was honestly so glad to see her best friend in a relationship. "This is the most amazing news." 

"It is!" Craig nodded, though he still looked shocked. "Congratulations, Bruno." 

"Thank you so much Shirley!" Bruno grinned. "Honestly, I can't wait for you guys to meet him. I've invited him to the red carpet, so you'll get to meet him then - you'll love him, I know you will." 

Just then, his eyes fell on Motsi, who was eating her prawn cocktail happily. 

"God, I'm sorry, Motsi! I just realised that I've been stealing the limelight here a bit when this lunch is supposed to be for us to get to know each other." 

"It's fine," Motsi laughed, "I'm so happy for you, Bruno!" 

"Thank you, my love! But now, it's your turn. Tell us about yourself." 

Motsi looked round at her colleagues, who were all looking at her expectantly, and giggled, "okay, where do I start?" 

"Wherever you like," Bruno replied, "but leave out any uninteresting parts. Like, I frankly don't care how many times you went to the toilet on your first date." 

Everyone laughed, and Craig rolled his eyes at the Italian. 

"Okay," Motsi began with a giggle. "Well-" 

And with that she talked and talked, the other three interjecting with questions every now and again. A couple of times she studied their facial expressions to assess whether they were bored or not, but every time she did so they all looked fascinated, hanging off her every word. 

She told them everything- about her childhood growing up in South Africa with her sisters, about how she got into dance, and about her career as a professional dancer. She told of the day that she joined Let's Dance, first as a professional and later as a judge and how she ended her professional dance career with a dance to My Immortal on the show. She spoke about her co-judges in Germany, Joachim Llambi and Jorge Gonzalez, and ended her story with how she found out that she was the new judge on Strictly Come Dancing. 

"We were shown your screen test - it was by far the best one," Shirley complimented, and Bruno and Craig agreed heartily. "Are you nervous about your debut?" 

"Very! But I'm also very excited," Motsi replied, truthfully. "This is honestly the best opportunity I've ever had and I can't wait for it to officially begin." 

"Well, only a week to go!" Craig said, refilling his glass of Sauvignon Blanc. "Seriously though, Motsi, you have no reason to be nervous. Your screen test was incredible." 

Lifting his glass into the air, he nodded at everyone else to pick up theirs, and cried, "here's to strictly 2019!" 

"Here's to Strictly 2019!" they all chanted in unison, clinking their wine-filled glasses together. "And may it be the best series yet!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I'm so sorry for taking so long to get this chapter up. I've just been busy recently with exam work and other things. My last exam, however, is on the 11th June, so I'll be able to write much more from then on. 
> 
> I'm super excited for the storylines I have planned for this story and I'm really excited for you to all join me on this journey. The next chapter will hopefully only be a few days - I already have most of it written. 
> 
> Thank you to all of you who have read so far - I sincerely hope that you are enjoying it, see you in the next chapter! 💞


	3. group chats and chicken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note - when Motsi is speaking to her let's dance colleagues, she would be speaking in German. However I don't speak German unlike my lovely friend xTabithaNala, so I've written it in English. But it would technically be in German.

Arriving home at long last, Motsi couldn't have felt any happier. She had honestly had the best afternoon - she had hoped that her new colleagues would be nice but she had not expected them to be this lovely and accepting of her. They really had welcomed her into their group so readily and she couldn't have felt any happier about it. 

After their lunch, they had gone back to Shirley's house for the afternoon, and Shirley had introduced Motsi to her boyfriend, Danny. He was an actor apparently, who she had met almost a year ago when she was doing panto, and it was obvious how in love the two were. He had been so lovely, and had spent the whole afternoon with them, joining in the chat and getting to know each other session they had been having. 

Motsi yawned as she untied her hair and put on her pyjamas. Her plan for the rest of the night was to document today on Instagram, then curl up and go to sleep. Today had been so much fun, but so exhausting too. 

Climbing into bed, she selected the photo she wanted to use - one that they had taken at lunch, with Bruno hiding behind Craig to hide the fact he had red wine all over his white shirt. Typing a simple caption, which read: 

Meeting three very special people! ❤

She posted the photo, and was met almost instantly with a steady stream of likes and comments coming through. Among the notifications, Motsi noticed that people had already set up fanpages for her, which she was touched by. On let's dance, it was Jorge Gonzalez who had the most fanpages of the judging panel - his bubbly personality and original style were extremely popular among viewers. 

As she was reading through all the lovely comments, a notification popped up at the top of her screen, showing that she had been added to a group chat with Craig, Bruno and Shirley. Smiling, she clicked on the notification, immediately typing a Hello! to announce her presence. 

Motsi 💃🏿: hello! 👋

Bruno 💺: Hey! Thought I'd add you to this - mainly full of us spouting nonsense but there you go 😂

Craig 🎩: I'll add her to the other group chats as well, later on x 

Motsi 💃🏿: what other group chat? 

Craig 🎩: we have a group chat with all of our other halves. Except Jason- seeing as we only found out about him today! And then we have one with the whole strictly cast. 

Bruno 💺: actually, I was planning on just adding him to the group chat at some point and surprising everyone... 

Craig 🎩: I'm glad you didn't, that could have been very awkward Bruno... 

Motsi 💃🏿: hahahaha 😂

Shirley 🐔: what have I missed?? 

Motsi 💃🏿: Shirley, why do you have a chicken next to your name?? 

Craig 🎩: basically, Shirley started this thing where each week of strictly, she would post a video of her dancing around with the chicken she ate for lunch. If you scroll far enough down her Instagram feed you'll see it. 

Motsi: omg 😂that's quite funny 😂😂😂

Just as she sent the message, her phone started ringing and she smiled to see that it was her co-judges on let's dance, Joachim and Jorge, ringing her on their groupchat. She had already been called by Oti and Phemelo before she got into bed, asking how today had gone. 

Answering her phone with a smile, she greeted them "hey guys, how are you?" 

"So, how was your meeting with your new colleagues?" Jorge was first to talk, in his usual excitable manner. He was currently lying in bed, his phone propped up on his nightstand. "Did it go well?" 

"I'm assuming it did, by the photo you posted," Joachim interjected. "Lovely photo by the way."

"Thanks! And it was the most perfect day," Motsi sighed, a smile spreading across her face. "I'm so excited to get to work on the new series. Craig's the loveliest person, Shirley is so sweet and caring, and Bruno is hilarious. I love them all already." 

"When does the show start again?" 

"Tuesday is the red carpet, then Friday is the launch show. However, it's not televised till September. Then the first live show I think is the 22nd September, or something like that. I'm looking forward to meeting all the celebrities and everyone, really." 

"Hopefully we'll get the chance to come and watch at some point," Jorge smiled, and Motsi crossed her fingers that they would be able to. Outside of work, she was actually pretty close friends with both men - they didn't live out of one another's pockets, or see each other every day or anything... but they were supportive of one another in all they did and sometimes met up for dinner outside of Let's Dance season, no matter how busy they were. 

"That would be amazing! I really appreciate how supportive you both are of me in everything," Motsi smiled back, laying down in bed and resting her phone on her nightstand, similarly to Jorge. 

"What are friends for?" Joachim replied simply, and Jorge agreed. 

They talked for a short while longer, before Motsi hung up the phone, growing increasingly exhausted. Going back onto the group chat with Craig, Bruno and Shirley, she saw that there had been a lot of messages since she left, but most of them about random things - like chicken. 

Yawning she typed out a message of her own. 

Motsi💃🏿: omg this conversation is great 😂😂 sorry for missing most of it, I was on a call to my Let's Dance fellow judges. Anyways, guys, I'm probably going to go to sleep now, I'm exhausted. Goodnight and thank you for the best day 😴💞xx

Craig 🎩: night darling, thanks for an amazing day xxxx

Bruno💺: goodnight my love, sleep well 😴😴

Shirley 🐔: goodnight!!! 💞💞

With that, Motsi turned off her phone and placed it on the nightstand before rolling over and falling asleep almost immediately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter is a bit boring, but I needed a filler. Next chapter will be more interesting 💞
> 
> I have exams next week, so will probably not post anything on TLG or this story until they're over. But after that, I'll be posting more regularly 💞
> 
> I'll see you in the next chapter! Hope you enjoyed 💞


	4. otherwise engaged

"Bruno, we need to talk." 

Bruno looked up from his dinner of vegetable curry and wondered exactly what it was that his boyfriend wanted to talk to him about. 

Jason had been away this week, but finally, they were able to spend some quality time together, just them two. He hadn't been in contact much, but Bruno had understood and respected that he was just very busy. He was just glad that now, they got some time to spend together without either of them having to work. 

In three weeks or so, Dancing With The Stars in America would restart, meaning that Bruno would be spending three months flying between Los Angeles and London on a weekly basis, and therefore would have even less time to spend with Jason. 

Jason had offered to come with him some of the weeks, which he was looking forward to. Bruno adored Los Angeles and he couldn't wait to show Jason around the city, show him the apartment that he owned over there, and have him sit and watch Dancing With The Stars. But, he most definitely wanted to make the most of the time that they had together before work got insane. 

He could barely wait till it got to Christmas and the end of strictly, when they could spend several interrupted weeks together. 

"You know how you invited me to Strictly next week?" 

Bruno nodded, beaming as he thought of bringing Jason to the red carpet event on Monday. He was so excited to introduce his new boyfriend to everyone, and to the show in general - Jason had never before watched strictly, reality TV not really being something he enjoyed watching. 

Bruno had slowly grown used to rarely having people come to watch him on strictly. Once a year, Lizzie, one of his greatest friends, would come and watch the show, and very occasionally a friend of his from Los Angeles or Italy would come. But, apart from that, no one was ever there as his guest. 

He couldn't lie - watching Jonathan come to strictly every week except one last year had been really hard for him. He was beyond happy for his friend - he had seen Craig through some very tough breakups, most notably the one with Damon in 2016 - but he couldn't help but feel a little jealous of his relationship with Jonathan sometimes. 

But this year, he finally had somebody who would be able to come to the live shows, support... and be there specifically for him. He could see it now - him and Jason hanging out backstage, along with Shirley and Danny and Craig and Jonathan, and having so much fun together. 2019 really was going to be the best series yet. 

"Well - I can't come to the red carpet. I'm so sorry, Bruno, but things have cropped up." 

At that, Bruno immediately deflated, all his happiness dying away. They had been looking forward to the red carpet for weeks - all August, they had been talking about it. And now, just days before the event.... Jason was saying he couldn't come? 

"Well, will you be able to come to the launch show?" Bruno asked, feeling even more deflated when Jason shook his head again. 

"I'm sorry, Bruno. I just can't. But I might be able to make it for the first live show. You know, week 1." 

"Yeah, if you're not busy with work, as always," said Bruno bitterly, getting up from the table and beginning to clear away his plate and cutlett. "I'm going for a walk." 

"Look, Bruno, I'm sorry, I really am. It's all just so-" 

"Difficult at the moment. Yeah, I know. You've told me enough times." 

And with that, he left the house without even looking back. 

He wasn't really angry with Jason. He loved him too much to be angry with him. He was just upset that they were spending less and less time together, that Jason always seemed to be otherwise engaged. He understood how important work was to his Australian lover, he really did, but was there really no way he could make more time for him? 

The Italian didn't stop walking until he reached a park not too far from his house, that he often liked to come and sit in. Tonight, it was very quiet - apart from a few people who had decided to take a night time walk, he was the only person there, which was pleasant. He sat down on a bench, and overlooked the fish pond, cursing himself for being so upset over this whole thing. 

When Jason was here, it was perfect - so romantic. But he was there much more than he was here, and that was the one big thing wrong with their relationship. 

As he was sat there, contemplating everything, Bruno's phone rang. Fishing it out his pocket, hoping it wasn't Jason, he saw that it was Craig ringing him. 

Quickly wiping his face, he answered the call. 

"Hi?" he said, wondering why Craig was calling him at this time of night. 

"What's wrong?" Craig asked immediately. 

"I'm fine," replied Bruno, fiercely wiping his eyes. 

"Oh yeah, because when you're fine, you sit in dark communal parks with tears streaming down your face," Craig rolled his eyes. "Bruno, you forget I've known you for fifteen years. I do know when you're not okay. So..."

Bruno sighed, knowing that he couldn't hide it from his friend. Craig was scarily good at working out these things. 

"Jason's not coming to either the launch show or the red carpet," he admitted, "and I'm sad because I was really looking forward to showing him around and introducing you guys to him and everything." 

"Awww, Bruno, I'm sorry," Craig sighed, feeling truly bad for his friend. "Why's he not coming?" 

"He's otherwise engaged," Bruno said bitterly, a few more tears leaking from his eyes. "He's always busy, and I wish that he wasn't." 

"Busy with what? Work?" Craig questioned. 

"Yeah. Work," replied Bruno, nodding. "I just - I just wish that he had more time for me, sometimes? He's a perfect boyfriend to me, and I love him so much, but he has less and less time for me and I'm finding that difficult. The first couple of weeks we were literally inseparable and... now that strictly is starting up I know that both of us are going to be even busier and... Craig, am I being too clingy?" 

"No! No way," replied Craig, fiercely. "You're allowed to be sad." 

He remembered a time when last series, Jonathan had been unable to attend one of the live shows because he had been busy with work. He had missed him so much, especially when Darcey had turned up with her husband and several of the professionals had had their other halves come to visit. He totally understood how Bruno felt - especially because he had been all these years without a significant other. 

"Do you think he might come to the live shows?" Craig asked a few moments of silence later. 

"I honestly don't know. If he's not busy, then maybe he might squeeze in the time to come and see me, but who knows?" 

Just at that moment, a message came through on Bruno's phone, and he had to smile at how romantic and how thoughtful his other half was - but be annoyed at how infuriatingly infuriating he was at the same time. 

Jason 🐱: I'm so sorry about just now mi amor ☹I don't want you to be sad! Look, I promise promise promise you, I will come to the live shows. I promise! Please come home... I thought we could have a bath and then watch a movie? Your choice? 😘xx

"I've got to go, Craig," Bruno said quickly, deciding that, seeing as Jason was here for now, he would go and spend as much time as possible with him. "I'll see you next week at the show, and no doubt we'll talk before that." 

And without even waiting for Craig's response, the Italian began to make his way back to the house, the hurt finally going away as he looked forward to the evening with his gorgeous, but downright infuriating other half.


	5. picnic and couples predictions

Tuesday morning finally rolled around, and Motsi couldn't have been more excited to hear her alarm go off. Jumping out of bed full of energy, having rested well the night before, she had a really quick shower, before changing into some casual clothes. She didn't bother with make up - she would have her hair and make up professionally done when she was at Elstree later that day. 

As she was leaving, she received a message in the group chat that she had with Joachim and Jorge, wishing her luck for the red carpet later that day. Smiling, she replied with a sweet little message before practically skipping down the road with excitement to catch the tube. 

It was a relatively short journey to Elstree Studios and before she knew it, Motsi was arriving at the famous building. She grinned widely as she approached and saw Craig standing there waiting for her - with his arm around a tall, curly-haired man that could only be his boyfriend, Jonathan. 

"Hi, darling," Craig greeted her in his usual way, giving her a hug. "How are you, gorgeous?" 

"I'm great! So excited for today! You?" 

"Same! It's been fifteen years and I'm still as excited for the new series as ever! Oh, by the way Motsi, this is my boyfriend, Jonathan." 

"Hello, Motsi," the man standing beside Craig nodded at her, and reached out to shake her hand. "I'm Jonathan- Craig's told me so much about you already." 

"Lovely to meet you!" Motsi said in her usual cheery tone. "Where are Bruno and Shirley?" 

"They're inside catching up with the others," Craig replied. "Bruno's a bit upset today though." 

"Awww, how come?" Motsi questioned as they headed towards the entrance to the building. 

"Jason couldn't make it," Craig replied, "and he's pretty upset about it. And he's not coming to the launch show either. Apparently, Jason only pulled out of coming like two days ago." 

"Awww, bless him," Motsi sighed; she could only imagine just how disappointed Bruno was. She hadn't known him long, but he truly had seemed so excited to bring Jason along today. "Hopefully he'll be able to come along to the first live show or something." 

"Apparently Jason has promised to come to week one, but I can tell Bruno's still disappointed over him dropping out so close to the event," Craig explained, as they entered the studio where they filmed the show. "Now come on inside. You have a lot of people to meet before this day is out, my darling!" 

.. 

Bruno couldn't help but feel a little jealous of his friends that day as they hung out backstage, particularly Craig and Shirley. Of course, he was so happy that Danny had come along to support Shirley, and Jonathan to support Craig, but he missed Jason - and felt terribly sad that he couldn't be here tonight.

He spent some of the time catching up with Giovanni and Graziano, his fellow Italians, and they actually had a very nice conversation about Italy and Italian culture. But when Ashley and Giada turned up to see their respective partners, Bruno trudged sadly back to the judges, who were showing Motsi around, with Danny and Jonathan in tow, having a great time. 

"I think you've met everyone," Shirley laughed, beckoning for Bruno to come and join them. "Right, I was thinking- how about we all have a small picnic in my dressing room?" 

Because she was the head judge, Shirley had a slightly larger dressing room than the other judges. Therefore, when the judges wanted to hold "judges meetings" or have their lunch together or just hang out backstage together, they would normally go to Shirley's room for a bit of extra space. 

"Sounds like a lovely idea! We should definitely try and do that more this year, we didn't do it nearly enough last year," Craig smiled, and Motsi, Jonathan and Danny agreed with him. 

"All right then! I'll go and get things all sorted out - knock on my door in twenty minutes." 

Bruno sighed heavily. He didn't really want to go and have a picnic with them all, not whilst Danny and Jonathan were there and Jason wasn't. He knew he was being slightly overdramatic, that Jason would be coming to the live shows, but that didn't mean he was any less upset about it. 

Deciding to just go away and try and hide in his dressing room, he was stopped by somebody taking hold of his arm, that somebody being Motsi. 

"Are you all right?" she asked him, looking concerned. "You've seemed a bit off all day. Is it because Jason's not here?" 

"Yeah," Bruno nodded, "I really miss him. And I'm finding it difficult to hang out with Craig and Shirley whilst they've got Jonathan and Danny there. I know I'm being overly dramatic and everything, like Jason shouldn't have to come to everything, but it still makes me sad..." 

"Hey, I get it, I really do. I used to feel that way myself - it almost felt like everyone around me was in love and I wasn't," Motsi replied frankly. "One year at Let's Dance, I remember both my co-judges, Joachim and Jorge, both had their respective partners come to the show every week, and I was still single. But nowadays, Jorge and I are both single and plan to stay that way for the foreseeable future, and Joachim's married. So I'm not the only one, even though of course I'd love to see Jorge find love." 

Bruno listened intently to what she had to say, inwardly cursing himself for not remembering that Motsi was single, whereas he actually had a boyfriend. 

"So hey, why don't you come along to the picnic? You and I can be the two without partners actually present, and we can just enjoy the food." 

Bruno nodded slowly, deciding to take her up on the offer. 

"Yay! I-" 

"HEY EVERYONE, GUESS WHAT?! THE CHICKEN CAME TO VISIT ME!" A high pitched voice shrieked, interrupting Motsi, and Shirley came into view, dancing around with a packet of frozen chicken in her hands. 

"Get ready to deal with this chicken nonsense every single Saturday til mid December," Bruno rolled his eyes, the near tears of the last few moments forgotten. 

Motsi burst into laughter at the spectacle of her newfound friend waltzing around the place with a frozen chicken in her arms. 

.. 

Lunch, eaten in Shirley's dressing room on the floor, was a very pleasant meal. There were all sorts of things - salad, bread, cheese, and of course chicken - and they all ate hungrily, keeping up a steady stream of conversation about later tonight as they did so. 

"So, the couples don't get paired up till later this week?" Motsi confirmed, taking another piece of bread from the basket. 

"Yep, they get paired up on Friday," nodded Craig. "I'm actually excited to see who will get paired up with who this year - I have a feeling it won't be pairings we expect." 

"Darcey always used to have a little book in which she would try and predict the couples," Bruno remembered, thinking of his former colleague with fond memories. He did miss Darcey and her presence, though he adored Motsi and couldn't wait to work with her. "She was really good at it most years - last year she just got Ashley and Faye's partners mixed up. She said Faye would be with Pasha and Ashley with Giovanni." 

"Well, I guess she can get a bonus point for Ashley and Gio, seeing as they're now dating in real life," Shirley replied. 

"I honestly didn't see that one coming! I'm so happy for them, though. Hopefully Ashley will be along to support Giovanni and whoever his partner may be." 

"I think he might get Michelle, to be honest," Craig replied, referring to the American, Ru-Paul's Drag Race judge who was taking part his year. "Don't ask me, though. I'm terrible at predicting couples." 

"Same here, I never get the partnerships right on Let's Dance," Motsi laughed as she helped herself to more chicken. "Me and my fellow judges had a contest this year to see how many we could predict right. I got three, Jorge got five, and Joachim got twelve. And there's fourteen couples." 

"I think we should do that too!" Shirley grinned, reaching up and grabbing a sheet of paper and pen for all of them, even Danny and Jonathan,"keep up Darcey's little tradition. Then we can look at them after the launch show, and see who did best!" 

Everyone nodded at the idea and began to write down their couples predictions on the papers in between bites of food. After they had all finished, they folded up the pieces of paper, placing them all in an empty Nutella jar that Shirley had in her room. 

"I'm looking forward to see how our predictions match with the actual pairings," laughed Craig, turning back to the food. "It'll be interesting to see." 

"It will," replied Shirley, with a nod as she screwed the jar shut and placed it back on the sideboard. "Now, let's finish up this picnic, because Motsi and I are going to be needed in hair and make up very soon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the wait! I got a bit uninspired for this chapter, but now I'm back and hopefully, the next chapter won't take as long. 
> 
> I always try and predict the couples each year, and I'm pretty terrible! I got four or five this year - I've never gotten higher than 7! 
> 
> Do you guys predict the couples? 
> 
> I'll see you all in the next chapter. Thank you to all of you who have read so far, I really hope you're enjoying the story. 
> 
> ❤


	6. a morning of dance

The red carpet event was absolutely amazing. Motsi had never felt more beautiful in her life than when she was dancing down the red carpet with Shirley, Bruno and Craig, in the most beautiful dress - a black bodice, with a huge red skirt. It was a magical moment, and one she felt she wanted to remember forever. 

All of the contestants looked incredible, and as they posed for photos and were cheered by the crowds watching, the strictly season officially began. 

"This is incredible!" Motsi cried, as Craig took hold of her hands and began dancing with her, Shirley and Bruno dancing next to them. "One of the best nights of my life!" 

"Welcome to strictly, my darling," Craig beamed, waving at the crowds, eliciting loud screams of excitement. "These next few months are going to be the best of your life."

After being interviewed by Rylan, who was to be the new co-host of strictly's spin off show It Takes Two, and posing for what seemed like hundreds of photos with her co-judges, the red carpet was over, seemingly as quickly as it had began. 

"That was the most amazing experience, oh my," Motsi gushed, as they all headed to the dressing rooms to get changed back into their normal clothes. "Wow! I love being part of strictly so much already." 

"And we love having you here. You were a complete natural - you're going to fit into the strictly family so well, Motsi Mabuse," Shirley told her, arriving at the door of her dressing room. "And Strictly 2019 is going to be the most interesting year yet, I can feel it in my bones." 

.. 

"Okay, let's try that once again." 

Motsi, Craig, Bruno and Shirley were in a studio in London, practicing their routine. The producers had decided last minute that they were going to have a judges routine on the launch show, mainly to introduce Motsi and to show off the dancing skills of all the judges. A few pro dancers, including Johannes Radebe, Katya Jones and Nancy Xu would be joining in, but for now, the judges were just practicing their parts on their own. Later on, the other pro dancers would come in and they would have a proper run-through ahead of the filming of the show. 

Dancing without the pros was extremely difficult, because they played a big role in the judges dance, but somehow they managed to get through it like the true professionals that they were. 

"Well, hello there!" 

Upon hearing the voice, Bruno span around so fast he almost fell over to see Jason standing in the doorway, a huge smile on his face. 

"Jason! I didn't know you were coming today!" Bruno cried, racing over to his boyfriend and hugging him tightly. "Come in, you have to meet everyone!" 

Jason found himself being tugged through the door and towards Bruno's fellow judges, who were all looking slightly exhausted after a morning of performing the same steps over and over again. 

"Jason, these are Motsi Mabuse, Craig Revel Horwood and Shirley Ballas, my co-judges and closest friends. You guys, this is my boyfriend, Jason Gardiner." 

"Pleasure to meet you all," Jason nodded, before shaking each of their hands. "So, how's this group dance of yours going?" 

"Well, it's not as good as it will be, not at the moment, because we haven't got the pros in with us," Bruno explained, before anyone else could have a chance to. "But it will be fabulous when it's performed on the night." 

"I have no doubt about that," Jason replied, taking a seat on the floor, ready to watch the dance. 

Although, Craig thought secretly, he didn't have much enthusiasm in his voice when he said that. 

"Come on then, guys, let's dance!" Bruno cried, jumping up and down on the spot. 

"Bruno, if there's one thing I'll never understand, it's how you can still be this energetic even after an entire morning of dance." 

The music began and so did the routine. Although it was by no means perfect, and a lot of work with the professionals would have to be done later that day, it was the best run through that they had done all morning. 

"So, what did you think, mi amor?" Bruno asked excitedly, as they all posed at the end. "Jason..?" 

Turning around, Jason wasn't looking at them. Instead, he was texting rapidly on his mobile phone. 

"Jason?!" 

"Huh?" And by the confused look on his face, it didn't seem as though he had watched the dance at all. 

"Did you even watch that?" Bruno asked, looking rather hurt all of a sudden. 

"Uhhh - yeah, of course I did! I loved it! You're all extremely talented, especially you, Bruno," responded Jason, rather quickly. "Right - um, I need to go." 

"Why? You only just got here!"

"Sorry, Bruno, but something important has just come up. I'd better go. See you soon! I'll message you later!" Jason said quickly, and giving his boyfriend a quick kiss on the cheek, he raced off without even saying goodbye to the others. 

"I don't know what's gotten into him. Sorry, guys," Bruno apologised, drooping a little. "He's not usually like this - usually he's much nicer and much more attentive." 

"Is he?" Craig raised his eyebrows in the corner of the room, and Bruno gave him a glare before looking around at all the others and announcing, "I'm off to get a drink. I think we all deserve a break." 

And, feeling rather dejected, the Italian left the training room. 

"Sorry, but I really don't like him," Craig shook his head, watching Bruno leave with an irritated expression on his face. "Jason, I mean. There's something about him I don't like." 

"I found what he did highly disrespectful to all of us, but maybe he was having an off day," the ever rational Motsi tried to suggest. 

"I'm sorry, but whether it's that, or his complete inconsideration of Bruno's feelings, there's something about him that I just can't warm to," Craig responded. "Something I don't.. entirely trust about him." 

There was an awkward silence, which was filled by Shirley suggesting, "well, we can't really do much more until the professionals arrive. Why don't we go and get some lunch and have a break till the pros are ready?" 

"Sounds good," Motsi nodded, and Craig agreed, feeling extremely hungry after a morning of dance.

So with that, the three friends headed out to lunch, trying to put what had happened with Jason behind them for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any ideas as to what is going to happen?


	7. time to shine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A nice longer chapter for you all - just over 2000 words. Enjoy!

"I can't believe I'm actually sitting behind that famous desk for the first time tonight!" Motsi cried, as they all waited to make their entrance. Currently, Kylie Minogue was on stage, the professionals all dancing around her as she sang her way through a medley of her songs. 

Backstage there was a mix of emotions - the show wasn't live, and nobody was being scored tonight - but the nerves were still high. The celebrities would be finding out who they would be spending up to 12 hours a day with for the next 3 months, and would have to take part in a group routine in front of the audience, so there was still pressure and nerves. 

"Although, you won't be doing any judging tonight!" Shirley laughed, taking hold of her friend's hand. "Another three weeks till we get to do any of that!" 

She was extremely excited, as this was the first show that Danny was going to be in the audience for. Craig had Jonathan in the audience, and he knew just how much his boyfriend was anticipating it - Jonathan may never have watched an episode of strictly properly before meeting Craig last February, but he had grown to totally love it now. Although, much to Craig's amusement, he knew nobody competing this year. 

"Michelle Visage? Oh, is that the one that's married to that guy off The Only Way is Essex? Mark somebody?" he had asked confusedly the day that Michelle was announced, sending Craig into a fit of laughter. "Oh, don't laugh at me, Craigy... you know I'm not into these TV shows!" 

Craig began to laugh now as he thought about it, making the other judges look at him questioningly. 

"What are you laughing about?" Shirley asked. 

"You know how I told you my Jonno doesn't watch much TV?" Craig explained himself, and Shirley, Motsi and Bruno nodded. "Well, this year, he didn't know who any of the celebrities were. And he got Michelle Keegan and Michelle Visage mixed up!"

The other judges burst out laughing at that, all knowing full well that Michelle Visage was indeed not married to Mark Wright, who had competed a few years back, but was actually a judge on a very famous show called Ru Pauls Drag Race. 

"That's brilliant," Shirley laughed. "Danny knew a couple of people, but he didn't know many of them. He knew who Catherine is, because his ex-wife used to watch a lot of soaps, and he knew who Mike is, but that was about it." 

With that they fell silent, as Kylie's medley of songs ended, and Tess and Claudia were announced. In just a few seconds, it would be time for them to make their entrance. 

"Please welcome, our judges!" 

The judges all smiled at one another and whispered a quick good luck to one another before they headed on set - Motsi with Craig, and Shirley with Bruno. The crowds cheered loudly as they danced on, making their way over to the judges desk before posing in front of it at the same time as the music stopped. 

"Let's have a little chat with our judges," Tess said with a smile, heading over to the judges desk and standing beside Bruno. "Bruno, are you excited for a new series?" 

"You know what, darling? I cannot wait to get started!" Bruno shouted, standing up and waving his arms around, almost knocking out Shirley and Tess in the process. 

"Not even five minutes, and he's already posing a hazard to us all," Craig muttered to Motsi sarcastically. "Get ready for thirteen weeks of this, Mabuse darling." 

After chatting with Craig, who said that he wanted people to be perfect and that he had no intention of giving any tens this year, and with Shirley, who said how she was looking forward to meeting everyone, Tess arrived at Motsi. 

"I'm beyond excited to get started," the South African beauty stated, with a smile on her face. The atmosphere was electric, and the show hadn't even properly begun. "I feel so lucky to be here, and I can't wait for the next thirteen weeks." 

The audience clapped. 

"We'll be learning more about Motsi later," Tess told the audience, referencing a VT that Motsi had done earlier in the week, talking a bit about who she was, before moving back over to where Claudia was standing. "Thank you judges. But for now, it's time to meet... our strictly stars!" 

With that, all fifteen celebrities made their way down the two glittery staircases one by one, and were applauded loudly by all those watching. Then, straight after that, came the moment that they had all been waiting for since they signed up - the moment where they found out who would be their professional partner. 

The first four celebrities - Catherine Tyldesley, Saffron Barker, Michelle Visage and Alex Scott - were swiftly partnered up with Johannes, AJ, Giovanni and Neil respectively. Motsi smiled to see that she had got all four of her predictions right, and just hoped that she could get twelve or more correct so that she could show off to Joachim later on. 

Following that, it was time for the judges routine, and Motsi suddenly felt a little nervous. She had been dancing for years, and had actually created and danced a dynamic routine with two of the couples on Let's Dance earlier this year, but this was to be the first time she would be dancing on British Saturday night TV. 

"You'll be brilliant," Shirley whispered as they took their places, which comforted the new judge a little. 

After Motsi's VT was played, the music began and so did the routine that Motsi, Craig, Bruno and Shirley had been rehearsing so intensely the past few days. 

It began with Nadiya, Oti and Nancy dancing down on the floor together, then all the focus was turned to Shirley as she began to dance in the uppermost of the three boxes. Kevin, Gorka, AJ and Neil, who were all dressed in orange to match the colour of the box, moved rhythmically around the Queen of Latin, all taking it in turns to dance with her. Her part ended with six incredible spins in two seconds, spins that she had been famous for for years, and Anton making a sudden entrance into the box to dance with the Wallasey-born dancer. 

Bruno's part was next, in what appeared to be a dressing room setting. Ricky Martin's hit song Living La Vida Loca played as Bruno spun and danced around with Amy, Luba, Katya, Janette and Karen, who were all dressed in outfits that matched the colour of the box (this time, blue). And as the Italian posed in the middle of the dancers, Craig in the green box started to dance to the same song- Nadiya, Oti, Nancy and Dianne dancing with him in front of a lampshade and sofa. 

Finally, it was Motsi's time to shine. Dressed in a black fringed dress which was white at the bottom, she went out onto the floor blazing like a beacon, confident and sassy as ever, the crowds cheering loudly for her. Johannes, Graziano, Aljaz and Giovanni danced alongside her, but she was most definitely the standout, the one that everyone's eyes were fixed on. And before she knew it, the dance was over - her first dance on strictly. 

This is one of the best moments of my life, she thought to herself as she posed with the men, the crowd cheering louder than ever. 

It had been stressful trying to get it perfect in a matter of days, but as the judges went backstage to change back into the outfits they were wearing initially, they were all extremely proud of how well it had gone. Giving each other a quick hug, they changed super quickly before heading back out on set, ready for the next four celebrities to be partnered up with a professional. 

James Cracknell, Karim Zeroual, Chris Ramsey and David James were the next four to find out who they would be dancing with, and they got paired with Luba, Amy, Karen and Nadiya respectively. And after a quick music break (Mark Ronson performing alongside another artist named Yebba), Emma Barton, Emma Weymouth and Anneka Rice found out who they would be dancing with. 

Emma Weymouth was ecstatic to find out she would be dancing with Aljaz, and Emma Barton was equally happy about being paired with Anton Du Beke, the longest running professional on the show. Which left Anneka partnered with Kevin, an arrangement that she was seemingly very happy about indeed. 

Following the third round of partnering up the celebrities, everyone was treated to a reprise of Stacey and Kevin's pasodoble. Stacey Dooley had been the winner last year, in an extremely close final between her, Joe Sugg, Faye Tozer and Ashley Roberts. Their pasodoble to the song Malagueña had been the dance they themselves had chosen to reprise in the final, and it was just as amazing this time around as it had been on 15th December 2018, when they had been dancing in a bid to become the champions of that series. 

Before filming ended, there was just enough time for the final four to be partnered - Dev Griffin with Dianne, Mike Bushell with Katya, Jamie Laing with Oti, and Will Bayley with Janette - and all the couples to perform. 

The evening came to a dramatic end, however, as Jamie Laing was helped off the dance floor by Oti and a medic, limping badly. 

"Oh goodness, that doesn't look good at all," Craig said through gritted teeth, as he watched the Made in Chelsea star leave, pain written all over his face. "Looks like he's done himself a pretty bad injury."

Motsi couldn't help but feel worry in her heart for Jamie, and hope and pray that he wasn't so badly injured that he couldn't continue in the competition. 

But despite her worry, she followed Craig, Shirley and Bruno backstage as the audience filed out of the studio, whooping and cheering madly, just so happy that the first show of the series had gone well. 

...

"So, how many predictions did you get right?" Shirley asked, as they met up in her dressing room, all changed back into their regular clothes. 

"Better than last year! Five," Bruno replied, a proud smile on his face. 

"Craig?" 

"Nine! I absolutely wasn't expecting Anneka and Kevin to get paired together, but there you go. What did you get, Shirley darling?" 

"Len's favourite number- Seven!" Shirley tried to say it exactly how the former head judge had famously done. "And Motsi. What did you get?" 

Motsi smiled to herself before revealing, "15." 

The other three judges looked stunned. 

"Hang on a minute... you got them all right?" Craig cried. "That is so unfair! I demand proof." 

"Here you are!" Motsi said proudly, showing her sheet of predictions to them. 

And as they read down the list, written in tiny, beautiful handwriting, they saw for themselves that she was speaking truth. 

"That's fucking insane," Bruno shook his head, "I've never got above six correct!" 

"I never usually get more than about half correct!" Motsi laughed, "this is a fluke." 

"So, how would you guys feel about going to get pizza?" Shirley asked.

The other judges nodded, so Shirley turned to Motsi and quickly explained, "after each show, as long as we don't have to rush off, us judges generally go over to the pizza place opposite here and have dinner. Do you want to join us?" 

"That would be lovely, thank you!" Motsi accepted the offer. "But first of all, please may I ring someone..?" 

"Of course! Do you want some privacy?" 

"No, it's fine. I'll only be two minutes," Motsi giggled to herself as she pressed Call. 

Two rings later, the face of one of her closest friends popped up onto the screen. Joachim was sitting in a deckchair in his garden in Germany, the night sky cloudless and the air seemingly warm (well, he was wearing a short sleeved t-shirt), a contrast to the dismal rainy weather in England. 

"Motsi! How did the first live show go?" 

"It wasn't actually live, Joachim, it was prerecorded, but it was great! The judges dance went brilliantly, and the couples are looking amazing!" 

"See, I told you the dance would go well!" Joachim beamed, so proud of his friend. "I can't wait to see it on TV- I've managed to find a site where I can watch it, using a VPN. Jorge and I are going to watch it together." 

"Let me know what you think! I really had the best night. Hey Joachim, guess how many couples I predicted correctly?" Motsi teased. 

"Same number as you got at Let's Dance this year - three?" Joachim guessed. 

"Fifteen," Motsi replied, bursting out into laughter as she saw Joachim's shocked and rather gutted face as he realised that he was no longer the champion of guessing couples correctly among his friendship group. "Your face, oh my gosh! Don't worry though, you'll always be the champion of predicting couples at Let's Dance!" 

"You're telling me you got them all right?!" 

"That was my reaction exactly," Bruno chimed in, jumping up behind Motsi. 

"Joachim, this is Bruno Tonioli, my co-judge," Shirley introduced them, "and these are my other two co-judges- Craig Revel Horwood and Shirley Ballas. Guys, this is Joachim Llambi. He's the tough judge on Let's Dance, always gets into trouble for being too controversial, and always wins competitions we have trying to predict the couples." 

They all chatted with Joachim for a few moments, mostly about the success of tonight's show, before hanging up and leaving Joachim to himself for the night. 

"Right then, should we go say goodbye to everyone in the Star Bar, find where Jonathan and Danny have managed to get to, and then go get that pizza?" Shirley suggested, and her friends all nodded, feeling suddenly very hungry. 

"Well then, let's go!" 

And with that, the four of them headed out of the dressing room and up to the VIP lounge, to find exactly where Danny and Jonathan were.


	8. romantic late-night date

They located Danny and Jonathan fairly quickly - sitting at a table in the Star Bar sipping glasses of wine, waiting for the judges to arrive. After waiting for the two men to down their drinks, they said goodbye to everyone, and headed across the road to the pizzeria that they were so familiar with - well, everyone except Danny and Motsi. 

Entering the warm restaurant, there was hardly anyone in there - only a young couple who were on finishing. Shirley led everyone across to the table they usually sat at and pulled up an extra chair for Motsi before taking down everyone's orders. 

Motsi decided on a meat feast pizza, and Jonathan and Bruno ordered the same. Danny opted for a Hawaiian pizza (Craig rolled his eyes as he told Shirley his order, before going off on a rant about exactly why pineapple does not belong on pizza), Craig for a pepperoni pizza, and Shirley herself decided on a margarita pizza. Heading up to the counter to give the orders, she also added on a bowl of garlic bread that could be shared between the six of them. 

"So, Jonno, did you enjoy the show?" Craig asked eagerly, wanting to know what his boyfriend thought. He hoped secretly that Jonathan had been proud when he saw the judges group routine - his favourite thing was making his boyfriend of almost two years proud. 

"Of course I did! And your dancing was just amazing, Craigy. I'm beyond proud," Jonathan responded, which made Craig smile uncontrollably. 

"Who's your favourite contestant this year?" 

"At the moment, although we've not properly got to see them all dance with their partners, probably Michelle," replied Jonathan, "I think she and Giovanni will make a fantastic partnership." 

At the mention of Michelle, Craig started to laugh once again, and so did everyone else around the table except for Jonathan and Danny. 

"What's so funny?" Jonathan questioned, raising his eyebrows. 

"Michelle Visage? Isn't she the one that's going out with that Mark from The Only Way Is Essex?" Craig asked in a very good impersonation of Jonathan's voice. 

"Craigyyyy.. stop bullying me," Jonathan laughed, blushing red. "You didn't tell them, did you?" 

"I'm afraid he did... sorry, Jonathan," Motsi giggled, making Jonathan turn even more red. 

"I don't really watch much TV," the gardener explained to Motsi, as Shirley came back to the table, having placed all their orders. "I much prefer to read a good book." 

"My Jonno is really into reading," Craig smiled, putting his arm round his boyfriend. "He's always reading something or another." 

"Yeah, and I was never really into musicals or theatre until I met Craigy," Jonathan explained. "Now, though, I love the theatrical world - even though I won't be going into it any time soon, seeing as I can't dance, I can't sing, and I can't act to save my life." 

"You can sing Steps songs pretty well in the shower, and you can dance Steps routines around our bedroom perfectly," Craig interjected, causing Jonathan to blush even harder. 

"Craigy! We don't talk about that."

"Jonno's a massive fan of Steps," Craig explained to Motsi, who still had a lot of learning to do about everyone. "Very often I'll come home from work and I'll find Jonathan dancing around our bedroom, trying to copy the Tragedy-" 

"Craigy! That's enough." 

"And last year," Craig continued with a grin, refusing to listen to Jonathan, "you may know that Faye Tozer was on the show?" 

Motsi nodded. She had watched the show previously for Oti, and remembered how iconic Faye's dances had been - from that perfect-scoring Charleston to their beautiful and elegant waltz. 

"Well, Jonno turned into such a fangirl when he met her - or should I say fanboy? You should have seen it - in fact, I bet I've still got the video of him meeting-" 

He was cut off by the waiter bringing their drinks to the table, telling them that their food would be only a short while. Jonathan took that opportunity to change the subject and talk about something else - merely, who they thought would do well in the competition, and who would not be as good. 

"Personally, Saffron disappointed me a little in that first dance. She seemed a bit stiff and unsure of herself to me - but I'm sure that she'll improve, it was only the first dance," Shirley admitted, "and I mean, she is only 19 years old. We need to remember that." 

"I think Saffron has great potential, and will probably go far seeing as she has a big fanbase - all those people that watch her on YouTube. I personally think that the final will be between Karim, Catherine, Michelle and Alex," Craig replied. "But can we talk about how Anton actually has somebody good for a change? Motsi, how on earth did you predict Anneka and Kevin correctly?" 

"I don't know! I just had a feeling, I guess," Motsi laughed. "I think Emma will go far - both Emmas actually. Karim looks fantastic and so does Michelle. Alex has a great partner in Neil, and Catherine could do really well as well I think."

"Yeah, soap stars seem to generally do really well," Bruno agreed. 

"Chris and Karen will just be dynamic," Craig said, "even if Chris isn't the best technical dancer of the bunch. I think their personalities will mesh really well together." 

"I'm just hoping that Jamie isn't severely injured," Motsi replied. "It would be such a shame if he had to pull out before the competition has even really begun." 

"It didn't look good - I could see that he was in a lot of pain." Craig was cut off again, this time as their food arrived at the table. "Hopefully it won't be too severe, though." 

They fell into a comfortable silence after that, just eating their pizza and garlic bread, starving after the long day that they had had. A couple of people came in, but mostly only to order a takeaway, not eat in. They didn't take much notice of the little gathering, which they greatly appreciated. They were all tired, and whilst they loved their fans, they didn't really want to be hassled at the moment. 

"We definitely need to do this more often this year," Craig said to the table at large, and the others all agreed with him. "We didn't do it nearly enough last year, what with how busy we all were." 

As they were all just finishing, a phone began to ring. Everyone instantly knew it was Bruno's, because it was playing Americano, the song that Bruno had sung on the tour earlier this year. He had changed his ringtone to that halfway through the tour, and had never changed it back. 

"It's Jason," Bruno announced, "would you mind too much if I answered it?" 

"Of course we don't mind. You go and see what he wants, darling" Shirley replied, sipping her drink. 

So Bruno headed outside, pressing the answer button as soon as he was out of earshot. 

"Hello?" 

"Hello, mi amor," Jason replied in his Australian accent. "Hey, I was wondering, would you like to meet me in an hour for a romantic, late night date?" 

Bruno was extremely tired - the strictly day was always really tiring for him, even though he was a very energetic person by nature - but a romantic, late night date with the love of his life was something that he couldn't possibly say no to. 

"I'd love to! But where?" he questioned. "I'm currently at the pizzeria.. we aren't going to a restaurant are we?" 

"No, of course we aren't. I assumed you would have eaten. Meet me outside the pizzeria in ten minutes," Jason answered swiftly, and with that, the phone went dead. 

Running back inside, almost falling over a table he was so excited, Bruno approached his friends again, who were all laughing at a story Danny was telling them. 

"Guys, would it be okay if I headed off now? Jason's invited me on a late night date," he got out quickly. 

"Of course it's okay! You have a great time," Motsi smiled, pleased that Jason had actually made time for his boyfriend. "I think we were all going to head off pretty soon, anyway." 

"Thank you so much for everything, guys," Bruno grinned, giving them all big hugs before heading off out into the cool night air. "I love you all. I've had the best day." 

"Bye!" everyone waved as he left the building, before turning back to listen to the rest of Danny's highly amusing story. 

Literally just as he shut the door of the pizzeria behind him, a car pulled up with Jason inside. Bruno bounded over to the car like a dog, suddenly feeling full of energy as he saw his love sitting behind the wheel. 

"So, how was the show?" Jason asked pleasantly, as they drove off. 

"Amazing, thank you! There are some very unexpected pairings, and our dance thankfully went without a hitch" Bruno replied. 

"Aww, that's good. I would have been there if I could, but you know... I'm very busy at the moment." 

"Yeah, I know," Bruno sighed, diverting his gaze to the streetlights that seemed to rush past them. 

"Hey, but we get to spend time together now!" Jason grinned. "And I think you're going to really enjoy what I have in store for you tonight." 

Bruno beamed. He may have been upset that Jason pulled out on coming to strictly, but it was at times like this that he really was so grateful for his boyfriend. 

And he couldn't wait to see what this date would entail. It obviously wasn't going to be a restaurant, because Jason had said specifically that food wasn't involved. Maybe he had built a fort in their lounge with fairy lights strung across? Or maybe they were going on a beach walk? 

Don't be so stupid, Bruno, he told himself, you live miles away from the nearest beach. 

There were many suggestions that he came up with in his head as they drove... 

But when Jason finally pulled up at their destination, he could not have predicted what they were going to do any more wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where do you think Jason's taken Bruno? And do you think it will be as romantic as Jason is making it out to be? 
> 
> Guys, I've put a notice on TLG as well, but I'm only going to be doing one update a week, on Saturdays. I've never in my life had an updating schedule, but I'm going to try it out for a bit, and see how it goes! 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Thank you so much for all the reads and comments, they fully mean the world to me! ❤


	9. the date from hell

In all of Bruno's 63 years of life, he had never been on such an unromantic date as the one that Jason took him on that night. 

It turned out that it wasn't a date at all - or rather, not a very thoughtful one. It was, instead, a boozy night in with Jason's friend Reno, where Bruno just sat there watching the two of them play virtual football against people in different countries. Bruno had never had any interest in football, and Jason knew this very well. 

Jason took no notice of him that night either - his focus was mainly on Reno and trying to score goals. He didn't act like Bruno was his boyfriend - he didn't introduce him as such, nor did he actually spend any time with him. He didn't once ask Bruno if he wanted another drink, nor invite him to play, and Bruno was left feeling annoyed, hurt, and confused. At one point, when Bruno asked if he could join in, Jason just ignored him and continued with his conversation with Reno, which really hurt the Italian's feelings. 

At 3am, just as Bruno was beginning to think that he couldn't stand this any longer, Jason turned around rather drunkenly and patted Bruno on the knee. 

"Mi amor... please can you drive me home?" he asked, chuckling as he tried to get up and failed, falling back onto the floor. "Ow." 

Bruno wanted so much to snap at Jason, to tell him where to stick it, but he found himself nodding albeit with gritted teeth. 

After thanking Reno for a wonderful evening (although Bruno greatly wanted to tell him it had been shitty), the two lovers left, Jason stumbling around all over the place he was so intoxicated. He must have downed at least more cans of beer in there than Bruno realised. And if he was being honest, if it hadn't been for the fact that he inevitably had to drive home, Bruno would have done the same - to block out the screams and cheers of Jason and Reno as they played stupid virtual football. 

They didn't speak the entire drive back to the house, but they weren't sat in a stony silence for Jason sang musical songs very badly the whole way home, getting the lyrics all wrong and mixed up. Usually, Bruno would have laughed at this, but right now, he was doing all he could to not snap, or burst into tears. 

Arriving home twenty minutes or so later, Jason practically fell out the car he was so drunk. He made a massive show of walking up the stairs, singing Mister Mistoffelees in a terrible accent that sounded nothing like Mistoffelees, and almost fell through the door, laughing all the way. 

"So, mi amor," Jason slurred as soon as the door was shut, "did you have a nice time? Wasn't that a romantic date?" 

That was when Bruno lost it. 

"No, it wasn't!" he snapped, all the anger he had been feeling all night finally being released. "It was the furthest from romantic you'll ever get! I've been on many dates before, but that was the least romantic date I've ever been on! Me sitting watching you getting progressively more drunk, and you playing a game on the X-Box that I don't even like is NOT a date!" 

"Why are you shouting at me? I thought you had a great time." 

"If you thought I had a great time, maybe you should go and get your eyes tested. Now, just go to bed. I've had enough of this for one night." 

Jason merely shrugged before running up the stairs, practically falling over at least three times. Bruno sank down into the armchair, exhausted, wishing that he hadn't shouted now but just feeling so annoyed that he had been so inconsiderate tonight.

Turning on his phone, he saw that just a few minutes ago, Motsi had sent him a text message. Opening it, he sighed loudly. 

Motsi 💃🏿: hello Bruno! Sorry for sending this at this hour, I can't sleep haha. Tell me, how was your date with Jason?? 😘😘

Seeing that she was still online, Bruno began typing back a message. 

Bruno 💺: it was, without any doubt, the date from hell. Can I come round to yours when it gets light?? 

Almost as soon as he sent that, the Italian regretted it. But before he could delete it, Motsi began typing on her end, and all he could do was wait nervously for a response. 

Motsi 💃🏿: I'm sorry to hear that Bruno ☹and of course you can!! Come over whenever you like - come over now, if you want to. I'm probably not going back to sleep now 😂😂😘

Bruno 💺: are you sure? 

Motsi 💃🏿: of course I'm sure. You know where my house is, right? 😘

Bruno 💺: I think so, but could you send me the address please? 

A few moments later, he received a photo of a piece of paper with the address written on it in Motsi's beautiful handwriting. Texting back a thank you, Bruno wrote a hasty note for Jason (even though he was still angry, he didn't want him to wake up and worry) and ran out to the car, putting the address into his Sat Nav. 

And with one last look back at the house, he began the short journey to Motsi's home. 

.. 

Of himself, Craig and Shirley, Bruno was probably the least close to Motsi. He was on good terms with her and everything, but she definitely spoke more with Shirley and Craig, so it surprised him that she invited him over in this way. 

He arrived around twenty five minutes later, just as it began to get light, and smiled to see Motsi waiting for him at the door. It felt like it had been years since he last saw her, when in actual fact, it had only been hours. The night had been so long. 

"Thank you so much for this," Bruno said gratefully, as he walked up to the door. "It's been an awful night and I just feel rotten." 

"What happened, exactly?" Motsi asked, leading him into her house. "But before you tell me... Do you want a drink?"

"You're one step better than my boyfriend at least," Bruno muttered. 

"Sorry?" 

"I mean, yes. Yes please, just some water would be lovely." 

Motsi poured them both a glass of water, and then sat down on the sofa beside her colleague, ready to hear him out. 

"So then, what happened? What made it so awful?" 

"It was just, summed up in four words, the date from hell," Bruno replied, sipping his water. "In fact, it wasn't even a date. It wasn't the slightest bit romantic. He took me to his friend's house, and I just sat there for several hours watching him and his friend play virtual football and get progressively more drunk. He didn't once ask me if I wanted to join in, nor offer me a drink, and he didn't even introduce me as his boyfriend... I just don't know what's gotten into him." 

"That really is awful," Motsi said sympathetically. "I'm so sorry." 

"You know, things were perfect when we first met. But now that strictly has come around he just seems to be changing. He doesn't seem interested in anything I do - I appreciate he has to work, but he doesn't want to come to Los Angeles with me, he doesn't want to come and watch strictly, and sometimes, he doesn't even want to go on dates with me. And now he's completely disregarded my feelings like this. Right now this minute, he's absolutely hammered, and is going to wake up tomorrow with the hangover from hell." 

"Maybe.. maybe you should talk to him? Tell him how you feel," Motsi suggested. "One of the most important part of a relationship is communication." 

"I'm not sure he'd listen to me..." Bruno said despondently. 

"Why don't you give it a go? You'll never know how it would go if you don't try it," Motsi said wisely. "Why don't you stay here for a bit, give Jason a chance to get over his hangover... and then tonight, go home and ask him to talk?" 

"I guess we could try that... I'm not sure if it will work, but I'll give it a go," Bruno replied. "Are you sure you don't have anything to do today...? I will leave if you do.." 

"No honestly, it's fine!" Motsi reassured him. "I was planning a quiet day in, watching TV and relaxing after the long day that was yesterday. Why don't you go and try and get some sleep, and I'll make us some food when we both wake up?" 

Bruno agreed to that - food was always something that he agreed to. 

"We can talk more as well, when you wake up," Motsi continued, "things always look better after a long sleep." 

Bruno wasn't entirely convinced of that, but he nodded, not wanting to upset his friend by disagreeing with her. 

"Where's the bedroom..?" 

"It's upstairs, first door on the left. My room is right next door, if you need anything." 

"Right. Okay. Thank you so much, Motsi, I appreciate this." 

"You're more than welcome, Bruno. What are friends for, hey?" 

Bruno gave her a weak smile, before heading upstairs to the room he had been given directions to. Opening the door, he flung himself down on the bed, wondering if things really would improve with a chat with Jason later that day. 

He sincerely hoped they would, but he just wasn't convinced it would be as simplistic as Motsi made it out to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooooo...
> 
> Was that what you expected??


	10. glittery bubble

Jorge 🕺: GOOD LUCK TODAY MOTSIIIIII! BUENA SUERTE!! You've got thissssss!! Joachim and I will be watching together tonight as we bought that VPN, so you'll have two of your favourite people supporting you 😘😘

Motsi, who was currently on the metro headed to Elstree, smiled at her friend's sweet message. She was so touched that, even though they lived in another country and couldn't easily get access to BBC 1, they had gone to so much effort to support her. She just hoped that tonight, everything would go perfectly and that her judging debut wouldn't be a disaster. 

Motsi was generally fairly confident and positive when it came to TV - on Let's Dance, nerves for her were generally non-existent, now that she had done the show so long. But tonight, the pressure was much higher because she was judging on a show she had never judged on before, in a new country where she wasn't all that well known yet, and she was among Craig, Bruno and Shirley - judges that had been judging on British TV for fifteen and two years respectively. She just so desperately wanted to do well and for the audiences to like her for the judge that she was. 

Joachim ⚀: good luck Motsi! Jorge's right, we're going to have a party tonight and we are going to watch you be fabulous! Remember to breathe, remember to believe in yourself, and only give out scores if the person truly deserves it! 

Motsi laughed out loud at that, despite being on a tube - that was such a Joachim thing to say, it was unbelievable. He always claimed that she was too generous with the couples in Germany, and that she should mark them more harshly - and she always argued back, saying that Joachim was way too harsh and gave too many 1s. 

Motsi 💃🏿: thank you guys! I'm so nervous for tonight!!! I'm scared they won't like me - the public I mean - or that I'll make a mistake or.... 

Jorge 🕺: ¡no pones nerviosa, hermosa! ¡Te vas a ser fantástica! 

Joachim ⚀: we believe in you! Just be yourself and everyone will like you - they like you in Germany for who you are, don't they? And making mistakes - if you make one, laugh it off! Like, remember that time that Jorge held up the wrong paddle? 

That made Motsi smile again. A few series back, Jorge had been holding up the paddle to score a dance, and he had shouted "three!" when in actual fact, he was holding up a number 4 paddle. That had become a meme now, and it was always joked about among Let's Dance fans without fail. 

Motsi 💃🏿: hahahaha how could I ever forget that? 😂😂😂

Joachim ⚀: but in any case, Motsi, you're going to be amazing. We'll message you after the show and we can catch up. Have the best day, and good luck tonight! We love you and we'll be rooting for you! 

Jorge 🕺: we sure will!! Best of luckkkkkk 😘

Motsi 💃🏿: thank you so much you guys! I'm about to arrive at my stop, so I'd better go, but I'll chat to you both later. Bye for now xx

Joachim ⚀: auf wiedersehen! 

Jorge 🕺: adiosssssssssssss 😘

They arrived at Motsi's stop approximately three minutes later, and she got out immediately, heading up to Elstree studios. It was a warm day, warm enough to be outside without jackets, and Motsi couldn't help but sing to herself as she headed towards the studios, so happy to see the building once again. 

As she practically skipped along, her arms spread outwards, she walked straight into a taller figure. Immediately, she blushed, realising how idiotic she must have looked. 

"I'm so sorry," she apologised, looking up to see the person she had walked into was Craig. 

"Hey, don't say sorry," he chuckled, giving her a hug. "How are you today, darling? Looking forward to the first live show?" 

Motsi nodded. "I sure am! I'm nervous, though." 

"Don't be! You're going to be fab-u-lous," Craig replied, pulling her inside. "Now, come on in! Bruno's really happy today, because Jason is actually attending the show!" 

"Awww, that's great!" Motsi beamed, following him in. "Is he here already?" 

After Bruno's date from hell a couple of weeks ago, he had had a chat with Jason just as Motsi had advised, and it actually seemed to have worked. He seemed to spend a little more time with Bruno, and he had agreed to come to the live show, knowing just how much it meant to Bruno to have him there. 

"No, not yet... he'll be coming later," responded Craig. "We hope, at least." 

He was still skeptical of Jason, unsure that he really was right for Bruno. Several things that had happened since last month gave Craig reason to be doubtful, and he did wonder whether or not Jason's intentions were really all Bruno thought they were. 

As they headed inside to meet the others, Motsi hoped that she was right and that the Australian really would put in an appearance later today. 

.. 

The rest of the morning and the afternoon were spent doing a million and one things. There were dress fittings to be done, walkouts to rehearse, and lunch to be had in Shirley's dressing room. Danny didn't come, as he was looking after Sonny, his little boy whilst his ex wife went away on an emergency, but Jonathan joined them. It was a very pleasant meal, although Motsi couldn't eat as much as she would have liked because of how nervous she was. 

At around 3.30pm, she went to get her hair and make-up done with Shirley, which was very relaxing. They took the opportunity to have a girly chat, which Motsi greatly enjoyed. She found speaking to Shirley extremely easy- she was warm, friendly and very open and honest about things that had happened in her life. Her attitude towards things was amazing, and the two hours that they spent sitting in the make up chair seemed to pass by in a flash. 

"Shame Danny can't see the show tonight," Motsi remarked, as they finally fell into a silence. 

"Yeah, it is weird not having him here... but Sonny is his priority right now," Shirley replied matter of factly. 

"Does... does Sonny know about you?" Motsi asked delicately. "Sorry if that's not tactful..." 

"I told you before, Motsi, I'm an open book. You can ask me anything," Shirley said with a smile. "He's met me, but he doesn't know that I'm his daddy's new girlfriend. So far, I've only introduced myself as a friend, and that's the way I think it will stay for a while. Mainly because we didn't want to unsettle him too much, too soon." 

"Oh, I get it, I really do," Motsi nodded. "That's a great approach to have towards the whole thing, actually." 

"Hopefully one day soon, we can explain to him, but now isn't the time," Shirley continued, as the make-up artist finished his work on her face. "Are you nervous about tonight?" 

"Nervous is an understatement," Motsi laughed, "yeah, I've had experience in Germany since 2011 judging, but this is a whole new audience." 

"My advice? Just be yourself," Shirley told her. "When I first joined, I was given the same advice - I feel like I tried to be a Len too much and wasn't completely myself the first two weeks. But now, I'm entirely myself, and I feel like most of the public like me. And those that don't, don't matter to me. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, don't try and be Darcey. You took over from her, but don't try to be her. People respect originality in this industry, trust me." 

Motsi nodded. "Thank you, Shirley." 

"My pleasure, babe. You're going to do great, you hear me?" 

"I hope so! I may not have anybody in the audience for me today, but I do have people back home watching me."

"Joachim and Jorge, you mean?" 

"Yep! They've downloaded a complicated VPN just so they can watch me together," Motsi smiled. "They're so supportive, honestly. They were there when I found out that I was selected as the new judge here." 

"Were they?" 

"Yes! I was getting ready to film Let's Dance, and Joachim ran in with my phone and told me I was getting a call. I answered it and well... the news changed my life." 

"You're going to be amazing tonight, Motsi. Trust me." 

The two ladies grasped hands, smiling at one another. 

Their make up and hair was finally finished about half an hour before the show, and all they had to do after that was slip on their dresses and go and stand backstage with all of the others. Motsi felt beautiful in a black sequined dress, and Shirley looked extremely elegant in a white number. 

Craig and Bruno were waiting on the glittery staircase that led out onto the floor. Motsi had come to realise that for strictly, everything was glittery and sparkly, from the bathrooms to the staircases. Going to the studios on Saturday to film was like stepping into a warm, glittery bubble for the day, and she was absolutely loving every second of it. She felt immense gratitude that the producers had named her screen test the best over all the others and chosen her as the new judge this year. 

And now - now she had to go out there, judge all the couples fairly but kindly, and show the nation why she was chosen to replace Darcey. It was a daunting thought, and as the music literally everybody knew started playing, Motsi's breathing quickened. 

"Good luck, sis!" Oti waved at Motsi, before heading to the top of the two winding, glittery staircases to make her entrance with Kelvin. Unfortunately, Jamie Laing's injury had been so severe that he had been forced to withdraw. Therefore, a replacement had been brought in - former Emmerdale star Kelvin Fletcher. Motsi didn't know too much about how her sister was getting on in training with him, but from what she had heard, Oti was very impressed with what Kelvin was achieving. 

"Hey," Shirley whispered, taking hold of Motsi's hands, which were trembling. "Hey. You're going to be amazing, you hear me?" 

"Yeah! I've seen you as a judge on let's dance - watched some clips the other night - and though I couldn't understand a word of it, you're a fantastic judge!" Craig told her, patting her shoulder. "Just be yourself, and the public will really love you." 

"They've said it all. And if anyone makes nasty comments... well, they aren't your fans, because true fans don't write hateful comments on Twitter and Instagram," Bruno added in. "You're going to be great, okay? We're all going to be great." 

Motsi didn't quite know what to say, quite speechless, but she smiled at all three of them and squeezed Shirley's hands tightly. 

"Please welcome... our judges!" 

"Good luck, darlings!" Craig smiled, and began his entrance, doing his usual series of chaine turns that always impressed audiences. 

And with that, Motsi gave Bruno and Shirley one last smile, took a deep breath, and walked out onto the set as Tess and Claudia announced her name.


	11. elation

Almost as soon as she sat down at the judges desk with Shirley, Bruno and Craig, Motsi felt her nerves dissipate. The similarities to Let's Dance were many, and she soon forgot that she was on a new show with an entirely new audience watching her. She was quickly swept up in the whirlwind that was the strictly come dancing first live show, and savoured every single moment. 

One by one, the fifteen couples took it in turns to perform in front of the judges and the 12 million who tuned into the show that week. Some of the couples, like Michelle and Giovanni, Karim and Amy, and Dev and Dianne, really rose to the occasion and gave outstanding week 1 performances. Craig reached for his 8 paddle an unprecendented three times for week 1, which stunned everyone. In contrast, some couples were a bit forgettable or didn't do quite as good a performance as some of the others, but the judges tried to be constructive and give positive feedback where they could. 

Motsi, who knew what it was like to be judged by the judges, (before becoming a judge on Let's Dance, she was one of the pros, so she knew how it felt to be in front of the judges with a celebrity partner), tried to give at least one positive in each of her critiques. Even with those who really struggled or gave weak performances, like David James, James Cracknell, and Anneka Rice, she attempted to look at the positive side and give them areas on which to improve, rather than point out absolutely everything that they did wrong. 

But the standout of the whole night was none other than the late arrival- Kelvin Fletcher. Doing a samba on the first week was never an easy task for a celebrity, due to the difficulty and intensity of the dance, and coming in late put Kelvin at a rather big disadvantage as well. As the VT played, Motsi wondered which way it would go - whether her sister and her dance partner would dazzle the audiences, or whether things would go horribly wrong. 

As it turned out, it was the former. Dancing to the Celia Cruz hit La Vida Es Un Carnaval, Kelvin showed amazing dance ability and fantastic technique for week 1, and left everyone stunned. Nobody was more stunned, however, than Jamie Laing, who had come to watch the show and support the people who would have been his fellow contestants had he not injured his foot.The look on his face was absolutely priceless - a look that read clearly Oh shit, he's good. 

The judging panel were in uproar. Shirley was fanning herself, Bruno looked as though he were about to faint, and Motsi couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. The pride she felt in her sister and Kelvin was immense. Craig was the one and only person on the panel who was just sitting there calmly, taking in everything in his usual style. 

Motsi was first to speak, and she (still stunned) commented on how fun the dance was and how much she loved Kelvin's hip actions and body line. Craig was more critical, saying that Kelvin's hands were distracting, but he still finished off his critique saying the dance was amazing, especially for week one. 

For only the second time that night, all four judges gave the same score. 8. That left Kelvin and Oti with a score of 32 and propelled them easily into the lead. 

Motsi actually felt sorry for David- the contestant who had to follow that amazing performance. 

All too soon the show was over, over until next week. There was no results show that night, so after the cameras stopped filming, everyone headed backstage, thrilled with how the first show had gone. 

Nobody, however, was more happy than Motsi. As she ran backstage cheering and whooping with all the rest of the cast, her happiness was indescribable. The first show was over, she hadn't messed up, her sister was top of the leaderboard, she had the greatest friends in all the world, and - according to Twitter- the public really liked her. 

And as she headed into her dressing room to get changed back into regular clothes, she hoped that this feeling of elation would last for all eternity. 

.. 

"How amazing was that?!" Jorge exclaimed, as the credits began to roll on the screen. He and Joachim had watched the show together as planned, connecting Joachim's laptop to the TV and making snacks and drinks. "Wasn't that just amazing? Motsi was literally incredible! And that guy who did the samba and danced with Oti... I actually think he could win!" 

"It was definitely amazing," Joachim agreed, smiling as Jorge literally bounced around the room, on cloud nine. "Although I think giving Will seven was a little too generous, and Anneka I don't think deserved fours, maybe threes, and..." 

"All right, all right, Joachim, you're not judging them," Jorge rolled his eyes. "I just knew Motsi would be amazing! I bet she's so proud of her sister... Kelvin was incredible..." 

He had been fangirling over Kelvin's dance since it started. Jorge's two favourite dance styles were the samba and the salsa, and when he found celebrities who could dance them well, he was always extremely excitable. 

"Now that dance was marked fairly by all judges," Joachim nodded in agreement. "Motsi though was genuinely great.. although I had no doubts in my mind about that." 

At that moment both of their phones pinged, and they both looked down at them to see it was a message from Motsi. 

Motsi 💃🏿: hey guys, OMG that was one of the best experiences ever!! I can't even tell you how much fun I had. You guys up for a late night call when I get home?? Shouldn't be more than an hour and a half. Just going to have one drink in the Star Bar to celebrate our success. ❤❤xx

Joachim ⚀: of course we are, you were amazing! 

Jorge 🕺: ¡Motsiiiiiiiiii tú eres increíble! And of course! 😍

Motsi 💃🏿: thank you so much you two, I love you both!! Talk soon 😘😘

Joachim ⚀: we love you too, talk soon! 

Jorge 🕺: chat soon! Love youuu, we are so proud 😍😍xx

Joachim and Jorge spent the next two hours cleaning up the house, talking about every little part of the show. They had chatted the whole way through the show, but there still seemed endless things to talk about. 

Before long, their phones were ringing, and sure enough it was Motsi. 

"Hey guys!" she beamed, her face flooding onto the screen. "Oh my gosh, that was the most amazing show! I can't even describe what an amazing feeling it was. What did you guys think?" 

"We loved it!" Joachim told her, a smile on his face, "although I did think that maybe Anneka didn't deserve fours.. that dance really wasn't great... and David..."

"Joachim, you are not judging this," Jorge reiterated, rolling his eyes again. "Honestly Motsi, you were incredible! Wasn't that Kelvin guy amazing? He actually danced a freaking good samba, especially for week one! Your sister really has a chance of winning this year, let's hope that she doesn't lose out like she did with Manny..." 

"You mean Danny?" Motsi laughed. "Danny Mac. Well, I've got to stay unbiased because otherwise the public will come down on me hard, but I'd love to see Kelvin win." 

"You're not biased at all," Jorge told her. "I mean, you literally used to judge Oti on Let's Dance! And I thought you were always fair to her and her partners." 

"Well, nearly always," Joachim interrupted, "I remember when Oti danced with Daniel, and they danced to the Bee Gees version of Tragedy, and you guys gave them 5 and it was only worth a 2..." 

"That's because you massively underscored them," Jorge retorted, before breaking out into laughter. "Seriously though, you were amazing." 

They chatted for a little while longer, about the show, the week that they had ahead of them and other things, before Motsi had to leave the call as she was absolutely exhausted from the show. Strictly was so much fun but it was so full on too and left everyone feeling exhausted, even after doing it for years. 

Climbing into bed at her house in London, Motsi replied to some positive tweets, posted a photo of her and the judges, and answered messages that she had received from her family and friends. There were the odd few negative comments about her on social media, but she ignored them, instead just focusing on the positives ( which more than outweighed those negative comments).

Suddenly feeling exhausted, Motsi lay down in bed and switched her phone off. She didn't bother setting her alarm - she never went anywhere on sundays anyway and she would allow herself to have a lie in to recover from strictly. 

Her last thought as she drifted peacefully off to sleep was just how lucky she was to be involved in such an amazing show, and how excited she was already for week 2.


	12. exasperated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this storyline is based on something that actually happened. If you didn't already know, on National Fitness Day last year (26th September), Darcey held a mass workout in London, and was on Good Morning Britain to talk about it. When she was on there, both Susanna and Piers asked her if she had watched strictly since leaving, and mentioned that the ratings had dropped. Darcey refused to talk about it, and said that she was only there to talk about fitness. Some of the events in this chapter obviously didn't happen, I've exaggerated the true events for dramatic effect. And now on with the chapter....

Of all the things she had done in her career, Diverse Dance Mix, or DDMix as it was abbreviated to - was one of the things that Darcey was most proud of. Along with her friend Nathan, she had created the fitness programme that was now being used in schools across the country. She considered it to be one of her proudest achievements, alongside her extensive ballet career. 

She missed strictly, she truly did miss it. But, at the same time, she loved having more time to focus on other projects - which was the main reason that she had chosen to step down and let someone else take her place on that glittery panel. She could nowadays wholeheartedly throw herself into DDMix, and she absolutely loved that. 

It was true what she had said on her leaving statement - she left purely to focus on alternative projects, and not because of any disagreements with anybody at strictly. Six of the best years of her life had been spent there, in actual fact. Every series she had loved every minute, and she had gotten on well with everybody - actually, she was still friends with quite a few of her former cast members. She still spoke to her fellow judges quite often, too, although not as much recently as they had all been so busy with their different projects and lives. 

The decision to leave seemed sudden, but actually, Darcey had been thinking about it for quite a long time. It was Halloween week, in fact, that she began thinking about leaving. She was sitting at the judges desk, and after watching both Faye's theatre jazz and Ashley's Charleston (both of which missed out by one point on a perfect score), a thought ran through her head. 

One that said if this were to be my last series, this would be a good one to bow out on. 

She told no one what she was considering, except her husband Angus. She couldn't even talk to her fellow judges about it and in the end, the news hadn't come from her. They found out the day the story broke - 10th April. She recalled all too well what had happened when Len left two years previously - every week, they all reiterated how it was his last series and how much they would all miss him. Darcey couldn't think of anything worse. She knew that they were just trying to remind fans of how amazing Len had been and all, but she would much sooner that audiences just enjoyed her final series, rather than keep on and on thinking about the fact that this year would be the last for her. The dance that they all did for her to celebrate her becoming a Dame at the beginning of the year was bad enough. 

When she had first joined strictly, Darcey was terrified, and after her first week she wasn't sure whether she would survive the series. She knew so much about dance - her credentials spoke for themselves - but she had no idea really how to just be herself on television. She was used to playing a character in her ballets, and wasn't quite sure how to be herself, exactly, when she made her debut as one fourth of the judging panel. She soon got there - gained confidence with the help of her fellow judges that is - and enjoyed six wonderful series. She would forever be grateful for the time she spent there, and would never forget the experience. 

Today, a chilly Thursday morning, she was live streaming into Good Morning Britain to talk about National Fitness Day. Currently, she was standing before a number of people with Nathan, doing the moves on the DDMix programme and having them all copy her. In little more than a minute, she would be talking to Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid, and she just hoped that they wouldn't try and talk about strictly. Because today wasn't about strictly. 

One thing that the former ballerina absolutely hated, was the fact that strictly was all anybody wanted to talk about with her. No matter where she went, or whoever the interviewer was, they all asked her about strictly and what she thought of being replaced by Motsi and what had caused her to make her sudden decision - the questions were endless. It wasn't that she wanted to forget her experience- never would she want to do that. But she just wished that they would ask her about something other than strictly, as she was really tiring of it now. 

"Hello, Darcey!" they greeted her, and Darcey greeted them back warmly, knowing that now she was on live television, being watched by many people going about their morning routines. "How are you doing?" 

"I'm very well thank you, extremely excited to be taking part in National Fitness Day," the former principal ballerina responded. "Fitness is something that means a lot to me and plays a big part in my life, so helping others to get active as well is just fantastic." 

The interview lasted ten minutes, and for a while, all seemed to be going well. Darcey talked about how Diverse Dance Mix came to be, the positives and negatives of exercise, and her plans for the future with the programme. Nathan even chipped in as well, talking about his role in the creation of the programme and his ambitions for it. They continued working out as they did so, stretching and moving around and getting all the others taking part to copy. 

But then, of course, it all had to go wrong. 

"So Darcey, you stepped away from your role as a judge on strictly come dancing last year," Susanna said, and Darcey tensed, "have you watched the show since, or is it too hard to watch something that -"

Darcey gave a nervous laugh, hoping that she could quickly divert the topic from the one thing that she hadn't really wanted to talk about today. 

"Well no, I've been too busy with National Fitness Day!" she responded, before quickly attempting to turn the conversation back to the real reason she was here today. "And it's been great because we've been able to integrate Diverse Dance Mix into schools..." she hoped that that would be the last of it. 

But of course, it wasn't. 

"So you haven't noticed that the strictly ratings have dropped since you left?" Piers questioned further - it was evident that they didn't want to drop the subject. 

Darcey tried her best not to sound exasperated as she replied with, "Piers, I'm not here to talk about strictly - I'm here to talk about National Fitness Day! And being active." 

"Well, you've rallied me, I'll be out there today doing my ten minutes of fitness," Piers joked, before quickly wrapping up the interview with a goodbye and an awkward "nobody mention strictly." 

Literally as soon as the cameras stopped rolling, Darcey excused herself and left Nathan in charge of leading the group. She headed outside of the building that she was currently in and took a deep breath in, feeling very exasperated indeed. Much as she had loved her time on strictly, she really wished that people would stop mentioning it every five minutes, that not everything had to be about strictly. She must have been questioned about it a thousand times since her exit was announced - enough was enough for her. Yes, strictly would always be a part of her, and yes, she missed it dearly and would never say never to returning in the distant future... but her time there was over for now. It was time for a new chapter, something new to add some variety to her life. Life moves on, people move on, and she wished that everyone else could see that and just stop with the strictly talk. Because today for her wasn't ever meant to be about her strictly stint, not in the slightest. It was meant to be all about National Fitness Day, and of course that couldn't be the case. 

And taking another deep breath, Darcey smiled, straightened her ponytail, and went back inside to rejoin the activities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sincerely hope this chapter/storyline is a realistic one. I'm actually really enjoying writing it, I've got so many ideas for where this could go and I'm super excited ❣
> 
> It's also been a longgg time since Darcey was a proper main character in any of my stories, it always used to be Craig, Bruno and Darcey as main characters, but just recently it's become in my stories Craig, Jonathan and Jason ;) together by fate (an old story of mine that I've never republished) was probably the last one where she was a main main character!


	13. no longer a friend

Week two of strictly came around really fast, and Motsi soon found herself arriving at the famous studio again, ready for another amazing week of dancing. Craig was there to greet her at the door like he always was, and immediately after going to her dressing room to drop her stuff off, they made their way to Shirley's dressing room to have a catch up and get ready for some lunch. 

But, as they reached the dressing room, they could hear someone talking inside - and that someone did not sound happy. 

"I actually can't believe she would do this to us! After all we gave her and how much we shared with her, she's done this? This is absolutely unbelievable." 

They knew immediately that it was Bruno - his Italian accent was unmistakable. 

"What is he-?" Motsi began to question Craig, but he interrupted with a hissed "I don't know" and pushed open the door so as to find out more. 

Bruno looked furious. He was a very passionate man, but not often this truly angry, so Craig knew immediately that something had happened to get his best friend in this state. Shirley also looked angry, which rang even more alarm bells - Shirley wasn't the type to get angry over nothing. 

Making their presence in the room known, Craig coughed and asked, "what's going on, exactly? I could hear you halfway down the corridor, Bruno!" 

"I'm guessing you've not been online today then?" Bruno turned to him, his eyes flashing in a dangerous manner. 

Motsi moved to the other side of the room and sat down by herself, hoping that Bruno wouldn't get even more angry. She hated confrontations and she hated it when others displayed anger - she always had. Oti had always been the one who stood up for herself, knew what she wanted, wasn't afraid to tell people exactly what she thought of them. 

"No... I've not been on my phone since last night, you know that I always have a phone detox on Friday nights and do something special with Jonno," Craig reminded Bruno, "so what's going on exactly?" 

"Our former best friend now doesn't even want to be associated with strictly anymore," Bruno replied, practically spitting the words. 

"Who? Darcey?" Craig asked in surprise, wondering what on earth the introverted, kindly, gentle Darcey could have done to make Bruno this hopping mad. 

"Right first time, Einstein. She refused to talk about the show when she was on Good Morning Britain the other day, and reportedly called Piers up after the show and told him that she was sick of hearing about strictly, she couldn't care less about the ratings, and that she no longer wanted to discuss the show in interviews. How dare she say that? How dare she?! Strictly literally gave her so much, and all she can do is tell people to stop talking about the show and try and cut it out like it never..." 

"Bruno, Darcey loved strictly. She still does love it - you know she does. And you know what the journalists can be like - don't you think it could maybe be an exaggeration? I definitely don't think our Darcey would call Piers up like that.. she hates confrontation of any kind and well you know that." 

"She's not our Darcey any more, she obviously doesn't want us any more. And huh, I'm not so sure about that. Whatever the case, Darcey Bussell is no longer a friend to me," Bruno said, with horrible finality. "Anyway, I'm off to go and buy some stuff for lunch. Defend her if you want, but talking shit about us and trying to cut us out like we never even formed part of her life, is not cool." 

And with that he stormed out, slamming the door behind him. Shirley followed him, leaving Craig and Motsi alone together. 

"He'll come around," Craig told Motsi, who was looking upset, "he always does. That's definitely not the kind of thing Darcey would do, and if he really believes that, then..." 

"The journalists will twist the facts any way they want to make a good story," Motsi replied, and it was obvious that she was referring to certain articles made about her just a few days ago. Some people had insinuated on Twitter that Motsi and Craig didn't like one another, that the atmosphere between them was frosty. A feud had been suspected between them and posted about in the headlines, and Motsi just had to laugh at how ludicrous the whole idea of it was. She and Craig got on extremely well and were already close friends - there was no feud, to quote the journalists exactly. 

"Exactly. Just like they did earlier this week with those articles about you and I," Craig rolled his eyes. So many fake articles had been written about him since he forayed into the world of showbusiness all those years ago, but this had to be one of the most ridiculous ones. How anyone could ever really think that they hated each other, he would never know.

"Yeah, because we really despise one another." 

"Oh definitely! Can't even stand to be in the same room as one another." Craig broke into laughter. "Come on. Let's go and catch up with some of the others, and try and forget about everything that just happened." 

Motsi nodded, and together, the duo wandered out to find the pros and the contestants. 

.. 

Bruno stayed angry for the remainder of the day, which was no fun for anyone. Shirley too stayed rather hostile, seemingly believing the article. Motsi and Craig ate their lunch with the other two out of politeness and then went back to Craig's dressing room for a bit, to spend some time together just the two of them. Jonathan usually would join them for the afternoon backstage, but a friend of his was coming tonight to watch the show, so he was collecting her and then driving down just in time to get in. Pros of being a VIP guest at strictly - no queueing for ridiculous amounts of time. 

Motsi and Oti got their make up done together, and Motsi greatly enjoyed having some time to just sit down and talk with her sister. They tried to make sure that they didn't speak about Kelvin or training or anything so they couldn't be accused of bias, though both of them thought those rumours were ridiculous. 

"You judged me on Let's Dance for however many years, and were always extremely fair, as fair as Joachim and Jorge" was how Oti put it, "so why would you suddenly start treating me differently now that we are in a different country?" 

Instead, they talked about all sorts of other things, and actually had a lovely girly conversation. Oti talked all about how she and Marius had gone out on a date the other night - he had surprised her after a long day of training with a romantic meal at the new restaurant in town. Motsi couldn't share similar experiences herself, as she hadn't been on a date in a few years now, but instead chatted about the Netflix Party that she had done with Joachim and Jorge the other night. They had watched some musicals together, and it had been extremely entertaining. Often, before Motsi moved to the UK, the three of them would have in person movie nights - their friendship wasn't faked for the cameras at all, they really were so close and saw a lot of each other despite them being busy with their respective lives. Motsi was excited for them to have another in-person one at some point soon - maybe after Christmas? Whenever she would next be back in Germany... 

Oti's waltz hair and make up took longer than Motsi's look, and so the older of the Mabuse sisters smiled and said goodbye. Heading back to her dressing room, she slipped into her dress for the show, and admired herself in the mirror. She was so looking forward to seeing the couples second dances, and discovering whether they would improve, or do worse than last week. 

What she loved about strictly was how unpredictable it was. Last week was full of surprises, some couples well and truly surpassing everyone's expectations, and she suspected that this week would be exactly the same. 

And she could hardly wait for it all to begin. 

.. 

Motsi was right, there was surprise after surprise as all fifteen couples danced again, but this time for public votes. 

The biggest surprise for her of the night was Chris, who doubled his score from the previous week. His Charleston to a take that song was fun, fast and entertaining, and he ended up with twenty six points! He and Karen went wild when they received this score, and so did the audiences - Chris was seemingly a popular contestant. 

Kelvin and Oti didn't do quite as well as the week before, but still ended up with 28 points for an elegant and technically good waltz. Dev, Will and Saffron also had drops, but Michelle and Karim both did even better than the week before. Michelle's Viennese Waltz to "That's Amore" and Karim's foxtrot to a Frank Sinatra classic both scored 32, making them the front runners of the night. 

The bottom three on the leaderboard were Mike, David and James. James did actually improve from his Spandau Ballet tango the week before, but still performed poorly, putting him in Dance-Off danger. Mike's American smooth was also poor, and David just completely lost it. It was a shame, really, because his dance could have been epic. A pasodoble, set to the traditional music "España Cani"... but it just fell apart in the early stages and never recovered. David scored just 10 points, the second lowest score in strictly history. 

There was a short break before filming the results show, and whilst they waited, Motsi and Craig discussed who they thought would be leaving the competition tonight. 

"I honestly don't know - literally nobody is safe," Craig said, "but if I had to predict bottom two, it would be David and Nadiya and James and Luba. I'd say Anneka but I don't think she'll be in the bottom two simply because Kevin has so many fans." 

"I don't think I could even begin to predict," Motsi agreed. "Usually on Let's Dance the right person goes first, but literally anyone could go if they're not popular with the viewers."

"Literally," Craig nodded, "live TV is always so unpredictable." 

It turned out that Craig had predicted correctly - James and David found themselves in the bottom two. And after an outstanding musical performance from Lewis Capaldi, they both danced their week two dances again. It was evident to all the judges which couple had performed better, but all of them still dreaded having to vote the other out. This was a new thing for Motsi - Let's Dance didn't have dance offs, and eliminations were entirely down to the public. She hated the idea of crushing someone's ambitions, having to send someone home this early in the competition. Week two was too early, surely? 

For a better performance overall, and improvement from the night before, all four judges unanimously saved David and Nadiya, making James and Luba the first couple to leave the competition. Well, Shirley wasn't actually required to vote as there was already a majority, but she would have saved them anyway. 

"I hated that," Motsi said privately to Craig, and he placed a hand on her shoulder as they got up to applaud James and Luba's final dance. 

"I'll be honest with you - I don't like it either. Seventeen series of judging on this show and I still hate when someone has to leave, much as I joke that I look forward to it," responded Craig, as they swayed along to the music, the cameras finally ceasing to film. 

As soon as everyone began filing offstage, Bruno ran off to find Jason and Shirley dashed off to find Danny, leaving Motsi and Craig alone together again." 

"Hey, I don't think Bruno will be in the mood to go and get pizza with us tonight, same with Shirley, so do you want to come with Jonno and I instead?" 

"That would be amazing," Motsi smiled gratefully. 

"Okay then, we'll do that. Go and get changed back into your regular clothes and meet us at the door in five minutes." 

Motsi nodded and rushed backstage to get changed.


	14. cheers to us!

Since Motsi was selected for strictly, she had been looking forward to every week, but most of all she had been looking forward to the themed weeks. Themed weeks, she found, were when contestants really came alive and performed amazingly. She always looked forward to them on let's dance, and now she couldn't wait for the first strictly themed week - movie week. 

The judges never really knew what to expect in terms of dances before going live. Today, however, Motsi was able to work out what film most of them would be dancing a dance based on - although she didn't know which song it would be. It was obvious that Kelvin was doing something from the new Mary Poppins movie, as he was dressed exactly like Jack the chimney sweep, and Anton was evidently Austin Powers. Judging by Emma Weymouth's outfit, she was doing something from the new Downton Abbey movie, and Karim's outfit was a pretty big giveaway. 

"This is going to be a great night," Motsi whispered to her fellow judges, and they all nodded back. 

Shirley and Bruno were in a much better mood this week, which pleased both Craig and Motsi greatly. They just took care not to mention Darcey at all in conversation, because they knew that that would just cause tension. 

Similarly to the previous week, some dances were amazing, whereas others lacked. Bottom of the leaderboard were Anneka and Kevin, after a Kill Bill themed Charleston that just didn't work the way it should have done. It just lacked technique and energy for Motsi, and there seemed to be more running than actual dancing. She only scored Anneka a three, as did Bruno and Shirley - Craig scored them a 2. 

That night there were two standout dances, dances that would most definitely go down in strictly history. One was Kelvin and Oti's Charleston, which was indeed to one of the numbers from Mary Poppins Returns. The dance was amazing from start to finish, and Kelvin really embraced his character and dealt with such an intricate, difficult routine brilliantly. Craig and Motsi both went with a nine, as they didn't see it as completely perfect, but both Shirley and Bruno scored them a ten, meaning that they not only stormed into the lead once again but they received the highest score ever for week 3. 

"That was amazing," Bruno hissed to his fellow judges, and they all nodded in agreement. 

The second standout dance would not only be remembered for the actual dance, but for a moment afterwards. Anton and Emma did indeed do Austin Powers, dancing to the song Soul Bossa Nova. The dance itself wasn't the best of the night, but was still pretty good for week three, and it was as they received judges comments that one of the most iconic moments of strictly was born. 

"I was slightly distracted by the wig and the fake teeth," Craig began his critique, and everyone in the room started laughing, much to his confusion. "I do feel like you underdanced it a bit though... by that I mean you could come out and really smash it more, but I really loved that routine." 

"Thank you!" Emma beamed, and the audience cheered. 

Well, it turned out that Anton wasn't wearing fake teeth, and that they were all his own. Craig was absolutely mortified, immediately apologising to Anton for what he said. Fortunately Anton didn't seem offended, laughing along with the crowd, Tess and the judges, who were all hysterical. 

Motsi was barely able to get out the words for her critique because literally nobody was taking in what she was saying. Either side of her, Craig and Shirley were practically in tears, and Bruno was laughing so hard it was a wonder he didn't fall off his chair as he did at least once a series. Finally, she did manage to get out what she wanted to say, and Emma and Anton went upstairs to the Clauditorium to receive their score, laughing all the way. 

"Fucking hell, Craig Revel Horwood," Bruno said from the other end of the table, as their microphones were turned off, "I think you just provided me with one of my favourite moments of this show ever." 

"You know nobody's ever going to forget about this, right?" Shirley nudged him, and Craig nodded, wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes. 

The rest of the show passed rather uneventfully, and in the 45 minute break between the main show and the results show, the judges occupied their time doing different things. Jason hadn't come to the show, because he was incredibly busy, so Bruno went to talk with Giovanni and Graziano about Italian things. Shirley went to talk to Danny, and Motsi and Craig went to see Jonathan. Jonathan and Danny always sat in the same seats, together with any other special guests that came. 

"Craigy, your comment about the fake teeth almost killed us," Jonathan laughed, "that was truly amazing." 

"I honestly thought they were fake teeth! I have no idea why, they just looked fake to me!"

Then there was the results show to be filmed, of course. This week, there was entertainment from Harry Connick Junior, who performed Anything Goes. Each week they had live entertainment in the results show from a different artist - they had had all sorts of artists from Barry Manilow to Steps - and apparently, this year, there were some amazing artists lined up. Motsi obviously didn't know, as they weren't actually told until the week that the artist performed, but she was looking forward to seeing who else they would have this year. Lewis had been amazing last week, and Harry was incredible this week. 

After Dance Debrief, a section where Motsi got to go up to the Clauditorium with her fellow judges and talk about particular dances in more detail, the two couples in the dance off had to perform their dances again. Anneka and Kevin went first, performing their Charleston, and Motsi actually thought that they performed worse than they did on the live show. The energy from Anneka just wasn't there, nor was the technique and the personality. David's dance was not amazing, but he improved from the liveshow, so all four judges unanimously voted David through to week four and sent Anneka home. 

Anneka was very gracious about her elimination, however, and thanked everyone, especially Kevin, for the wonderful time she had had. Then, after one final dance on the floor, everyone began heading backstage, with the intention of either partying or going home (depending on how tired they were). 

"One drink in the Star Bar and then go and get pizza?" Craig suggested, and the other three agreed. "All right then, let's go and get changed and then we can head up there." 

Motsi simply loved this new little Saturday routine. Wake up, talk to Joachim and Jorge for a bit, get ready, go to Elstree, have lunch in Shirley's dressing room, get her hair and make up done with either Oti or Shirley, do the show, have a break, film the results show, go backstage, get changed, have a drink in the Star Bar, and then go and get pizza with Shirley, Bruno and Craig before heading home to sleep. She knew how much she would miss it when it was all over in December - but she wouldn't let herself think about that now. No. She still had ten more glorious weeks of this wonderful new routine, and she sure as hell was going to enjoy every single second of it. 

After getting changed in her dressing room and gathering up her things, she headed upstairs to the Star Bar with her fellow judges. 

It was always a lovely atmosphere in the Star Bar, somewhere where everyone could celebrate the success of the show. Sometimes, either contestants or pros had guests that came up to the bar and had a drink - this week, Amy had her partner Ben come to the show, so the two of them were enjoying drinks in the corner. Craig ordered them some drinks (he outright refused to let anyone else pay anything towards them) and the others found a table, so they could sit down and just chat. Jonathan and Danny joined them too, talking about how wonderful the show had been, although Danny was sad about Anneka's elimination. He used to watch Challenge Anneka apparently, and he was sad to see her go, although he did agree that she wasn't her best in the dance off at all.

Speaking of Anneka, she was currently sitting with Kevin, who had Stacey as a guest tonight. They were all chatting in a corner, and Anneka was in seemingly high spirits- she really had taken her elimination well. 

"Hey, Motsi, I meant to say.... is it true that Let's Dance had their first same sex couple earlier this year?" Bruno asked, as they sat sipping tall glasses of wine. Well, all except Danny and Jonathan, who had just sparkling waters as they were driving home. Bruno always caught a taxi home as he lived quite close, and Motsi of course always used the tube to get to and from Elstree. 

"Yes! A singer called Kerstin Ott," responded Motsi. "She wasn't the best dancer- Joachim gave her scores of one most of the time- and she only got to week five, but she made Let's Dance history!" 

"I really hope one day they'll do it on strictly," Bruno chimed in, "it's high time. It's 2020 after all."

"I've been saying they should for years," Craig nodded, "and from what I've heard, Dancing On Ice are apparently rumoured to have a same sex partnership this year. Not sure who it will be though, I guess we'll have to wait and see. Now, cheers everyone!" 

"Cheers to what?" 

"Cheers to the best series of strictly so far! To all these weeks of amazing dancing, and most importantly, cheers to us!" Craig nodded at them all. 

And with beaming smiles, all four judges clinked their glasses together. 

"Cheers to us!"


	15. one dance

Nobody could believe what had just happened. Literally nobody had seen it coming.

It was week four, and after a cha-cha that left him and Dianne in the middle of the leaderboard (considered a dangerous position to be in), Dev was in the dance off. 

His opponent would be the Viscountess, Emma Weymouth, who had also landed herself in the middle of the leaderboard following her jive to the Kim Wilde song "Kids in America". Although he had been in the middle, nobody ever really expected Dev to be in the Dance-Off... after all, he had been second on the leaderboard last week - just behind Kelvin - after a street commercial to an Aladdin song that had scored 9s from all four judges. 

The night's dancing had been great. Motsi had given out her first ten, to Karim and Amy for their tango. She had also given out a 9 to Mike and Katya, who had performed the quickstep and made no mistakes. It wasn't a perfect dance, but no mistakes had actually been made, so it was worth a 9 to Motsi... although her fellow judges gave a 7 and two 8s respectively. Other standouts of the night had included Saffron with the beautiful contemporary she dedicated to her nan (her nan came to watch her in the audience and Motsi almost cried as Saffron ran over to hug her at the end), and Emma Barton with a Viennese Waltz that scored 35 points. Then there were Kelvin and Oti with an insane rumba that scored 36 points and was extremely close to getting a ten from Motsi. No one had actually scored lower than twenty tonight - the lowest score of the night was Alex Scott, with her tango to Go Your Own Way (the Fleetwood Mac song). It scored 23. The competition really was starting to become a competition now. 

Now it was time for the Dev vs Emma dance off, and Motsi was not looking forward to making a decision in the slightest. 

The worst thing about strictly was definitely having to make a decision as to who was to be sent home. Motsi absolutely hated having to choose between two couples - she knew that she would break one's heart, and she couldn't bear it. She absolutely hated the idea of upsetting anybody. 

Emma's routine was definitely the best she had danced all series. There was a lot more energy (which she lacked a little of the first time around), the kicks and flicks were sharper, and she looked like she was really enjoying it. Dev's routine was good, and fairly complex, but it just wasn't as good as some of his previous dances. The choreography was good, but it was lacking something and, although it wasn't their fault, Emma was just... better. 

Dance-Offs on strictly, as Motsi had been told, weren't based off how well a performer could do in the future and weren't based off previous dances. They were based off that one dance, and that was how it had to be judged. If it was based on the journey so far, Dev more than likely would have sailed through to the next week but because it was based on just that one dance... 

"The couple I'm going to have to save, is Emma and Aljaz." 

It was a unanimous decision, and Dev and Dianne became the third couple to be eliminated from the series. 

The shock on everyone's faces as that decision was made, was obvious. Upstairs in the clauditorium, Janette and Amy were unashamedly crying. Other contestants were I'm disbelief that it wasn't them, that somebody so talented had gone this soon. Gone too soon. Emma and Aljaz especially looked shocked- they had not expected to survive the dance off against Dev, no way. 

"This just goes to show that nobody is safe," Craig said to Motsi, who nodded as Dev and Dianne came over to the table to have one last chat about their strictly journey. 

An emotional speech followed, and then a last dance with Dev and Dianne, in which Dianne broke down in tears, holding onto her dance partner. Everyone was quick to rush down onto the floor - Amy being the first one, rushing on within seconds. Janette was quick to follow, and then everyone came down, offering their support. 

"Wow... I did not expect that," Bruno said to his fellow judges, as they came off the set and headed backstage. "That was the most shocking elimination since Aston." 

None of the judges felt much like going to the Star Bar, after what had happened, so they decided to have a drink in Shirley's dressing room instead, just the four of them. They told Jonathan and Danny of these plans, and Jonathan said that he would come, but he wanted to go upstairs to the Star Bar and talk to somebody first. 

"I was not expecting that elimination," Danny said as they headed into Shirley's dressing room, "I mean, Emma did dance better in that dance off but the fact Dev was there in the first place is an absolute travesty." 

"Definitely," Shirley agreed as she unlocked the door and led everyone in, "it just goes to show, as we were saying as we came off... nobody in the competition is safe, literally nobody." 

"And this year's standard is higher than ever before," Craig reminded them. 

"Yeah, exactly," Bruno nodded, "anything could happen over the next eight weeks." 

Shirley cracked open a bottle of champagne and poured each person a glass, making sure to pour one for Jonathan when he came along. Handing one glass to each person, they all sat down on the floor, still shocked by what had happened. They couldn't imagine how the other contestants must be feeling, being shown in this way that literally any of them could go home next week. One step wrong, one mistake, one bad dance, and the competition for them could be over for good. That was the scary thing about strictly come dancing. 

Jonathan came along a few moments later, having had his conversation with Janette. He had wanted to talk about something that he was planning for in a few months time, and get her perspective on it - and he was very happy with how the conversation had gone. 

"Dianne wasn't up there but apparently, she went home with Joe in a state," he said, sipping his glass of alcohol. "She's really feeling like she let Dev down and hurt his chances." 

"It's not her fault," Motsi responded, "Dianne's great. It was the public thinking that he was safe after last week and not voting for him that did it. Plus, Dev is one of the lesser known celebrities. A lot of people didn't know who he was, when his name was announced... I remember seeing the comments on his reveal." 

"Exactly, Motsi," agreed Craig, "that's exactly what it is." 

They fell into a silence for a few more minutes, then Shirley said, "hey, let's talk about something that's not about tonight's elimination. What have you guys got planned for next week?" 

"Nothing much," Motsi replied as she finished off her glass of champagne, "I-" 

"Actually, Motsi, there is something you'll be doing this week," Craig cut in, winking at Jonathan. 

It was obvious however that Jonathan was not in on said plan, because he looked at Craig very confusedly. 

"On Halloween, Jonathan and I are invited to a party with Jonathan Ross, you know, the guy whose show we're going on in a couple weeks," Craig explained, "and well, we were wondering if you wanted to come. Because as you know, Shirley won't be coming with us." 

Motsi knew all about Shirley's surgery that she was meant to be having in a couple of weeks. She was having her breast implants removed in a surgical procedure the week of Halloween, and therefore, going to a Halloween party was a very bad idea. She was gutted that she was going to miss one of the best parties of the year, but she knew that she had to put her health and her recovery first and foremost. 

"Yes please! I'm not doing anything on Halloween- Halloween has never really appealed to me. I don't think I've gotten dressed up for Halloween in ten years." 

"Well then, you are definitely coming and we are going to find you one fab-u-lous outfit!" Craig exclaimed. "You can come shopping with Jonathan and I next week... we can arrange it later on in the week? Bruno's already got his costume, though he won't tell us what it is..." 

"Jason's got the other half," Bruno smiled, "well, the other half of the duo. I'm super excited for it." 

"Sounds good to me," Motsi beamed. "I'm free all week, so just let me know." 

"Well, guys, I'm not going to see you next week," Bruno reminded them, finishing off his glass, "but the lovely Alfonso Ribiero will be taking my place." 

Every year, because of flying backwards and forwards between Los Angeles and the UK, Bruno took one week off strictly... generally week five. The first year, they hadn't gotten in a replacement - Shirley, Darcey and Craig had just judged as the three of them. Last year, however, they had had a guest judge - Alfonso Ribiero, star of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, who had actually won DWTS in America a few years back. He had been a very popular choice, more so than Donny Osmond (who was a guest judge in movie week of 2014 and was criticised by many for being too generous and giving the first ten of the series), and so he had been invited back this series again. Motsi was very much looking forward to meeting him next weekend. 

"It will be weird not having you here," Craig nodded, "but it's good that you-" 

He was interrupted, just then, by a knock at the door. Bruno was the one that got up to answer it, wondering who it could be. He supposed it would be one of their friends, coming to say goodbye, seeing as Jonathan had come back ages ago. 

He put his hand on the door and pushed it open. 

"Bruno! Oh my goodness, it's so great to see you again! Can I come in?" 

Bruno's face immediately turned into a scowl. 

It was Darcey.


	16. wasted my time

"Yeah, you can come in. In fact, we need to talk to you," Bruno practically hissed, and allowed her to walk through the door. 

Darcey looked extremely confused, and rather hurt that Bruno had not reacted how he normally did when he saw her. Usually, when he saw her, he hugged her tightly; sometimes, he even used to sweep her off her feet. So this reaction was extremely unusual, and she wondered why he was acting this way. 

As she entered the room, she became even more confused, as Shirley also appeared to be the same way as Bruno. She didn't get up and hug her like she normally would have done - instead, she said a brief, curt "hello" and looked away quickly. The only person that actually greeted her properly was Craig - the man that she had been closest to ever since she joined. Bruno was the one she could have all the fun with and could never feel sad around, and Shirley was the one that she could talk to about girl stuff for hours on end, but Craig was the one that she was able to trust with anything, the one who always gave her the best advice. 

When she was having troubles in her relationship, Craig was there with advice and support. When she and Angus actually broke up for a short time, Craig was there for her and let her stay with him for a week to recover from the heartbreak. When she first joined the show and was terrified about what people would think of her, Craig was there to give her advice, reassure her that she would be amazing and that she had nothing to worry about. Craig had also been the one that she had dreaded telling most about her decision to leave- which was why she hadn't said anything, and let him find out through the newspapers. She dreaded telling all of them - she hated the thought of upsetting them - but Craig was the one she was saddest to leave behind, the one she would have found it hardest to sit down and explain to. 

"Darcey, this is Motsi Mabuse," Craig introduced his old friend to the new judge. 

"I've heard so much about you. It's a pleasure to meet you," Motsi beamed, giving the older woman a warm hug. She had sided with Craig over this, and believed the media had fabricated that article. From what she had heard, Darcey was a kind and gentle woman, who hated confrontations and would do anything for those she considered her friends. So she highly doubted Darcey's refusal to comment on strictly was malicious, and that the phoning Piers after the show was true. 

"So, Darcey, what are you doing here?" Bruno asked coldly. 

It wasn't just the coldness in his tone that confused and hurt Darcey. It was the fact that he called her 'Darcey'. He never called her by her full first name - he either called her 'Darce' or some pet name like 'darling' or 'sweetheart'. Everything was so different today, and she just didn't like it. 

"Well," she began, trying to sound happy and cheerful, "I came to watch the show tonight, like I told you I would! Then I went up to the Star Bar and asked Janette where you were, and she said you had all congregated in the dressing room, so I came to find you! And is it lovely to see-" 

"Why the fuck are you here, when you made it clear that you don't give a shit about us?!" Bruno growled. 

Darcey flinched. She had, like Motsi, always hated confrontations. "What makes you think that, Bruno?" 

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact you went on live fucking television and pretty much told Piers and Susanna that?!" Bruno shouted, although Craig tried to hold him back. 

"I said nothing of the sort," Darcey replied, in a slightly tearful voice. Over the seven years that they had been friends, Bruno had never once raised his voice to her, not like this. He had always been calm and collected when speaking to her, had never seen a reason to be angry with her. At the moment, it was like somebody who looked exactly like Bruno had taken the real Bruno's place, and she didn't like it. 

"Oh, of course! As if showing how little you really care about us wasn't enough, you're now going to actually stand there and lie to our faces? Darcey Bussell, I thought you were better than this!" 

"Bruno, just leave her alone." It was Craig that spoke. "Just leave her alone." 

"I will, once I've told her exactly what I think of her!" Bruno shouted. 

His voice lowered all of a sudden, and he spoke quietly but extremely dangerously. 

"Now look here. If this is how you want it to be, then so be it. We don't have to be friends with you, if you just want to wipe strictly out your life like it never existed!" 

"Bruno, will you please listen to me?" Darcey's voice became louder. "I didn't say that! And plus, that bit about me phoning Piers after the show was entirely fabricated, I have no idea where that came from! I just said that I wanted to, for one day only, focus on a different topic! Do you know how bloody difficult it was for me after leaving strictly, and having everyone come at me and it be the only thing that anyone wants to talk to me about? Do you know how much it took me to even make that decision in the first place..?" 

"Oh, I bet it was so difficult," Bruno rolled his eyes. 

"Leaving a job where I had made the best friends in the world and the best memories was so difficult for me! I honestly had the best six years here, and I couldn't have asked for any better, but after those incredible six years, I just wanted to go my own way! I wanted to show the world new projects, I wanted to do new things. Do you know how much I hated leaving you four behind? You guys mean the world to me!" 

"Oh yeah, we mean so much to you that you didn't even bother to fucking tell us that you were leaving!" 

Secretly, Bruno had always been slightly angry that he was never told personally by Darcey that she was leaving. He had always told her that she could tell him literally anything, and she hadn't come to him over something like that.. it hurt his feelings a little, to be honest. He had never said anything, because he didn't want to hurt Darcey but right now he was so angry that he didn't even care what was coming out his mouth and what damage was being done. He just wanted to vent. 

"I couldn't face telling you!" 

"So we had to find out via a newspaper article and a social media post. Great job, Darcey. Thanks for working up the courage to tell us." 

"You know, we would have stood by you and supported you!" Shirley joined in, unable to stop herself. "We would have been there for you no matter what! And we were, up until you decided to try and cut us out your life like that!"

"For the last time, I didn't mean it like that! I'm hurt you even think I would mean it like that, that you're even questioning my love for you and this show. The article was fabricated, and I love strictly. That's all there is to it." 

"Oh for heaven's sake, I'm sick of this crap. Look, let's leave it at this. I don't care what the others want to do, but I'm done with you. You do not get to try and cut us out and expect us to be there for you. So that's it. You are no longer my friend." 

"Bruno, please.. " Darcey laid a hand on Bruno's shoulder, but he shook it off vigorously, glaring at her. 

"Don't touch me. You know, Darcey, when I met you back in 2012, I honestly thought I'd found a friend forever. But you've shown me now that I really shouldn't have wasted my time. So goodbye, Darcey Bussell. Don't try to contact me ever again." 

And with that, he stormed out the room, Shirley shooting her a dirty look and following behind. 

"Darce... I still want to be your..." Craig began, trying to touch her on the shoulder, but the beautiful ballerina let out a choked sob and ran out of the room. 

"I'll go after her," Craig decided, but Motsi pulled him back. 

"I'll go after her," she said with conviction. "I've never really spoken to her before." 

And with that, she raced out the room after Darcey, hoping that she would listen to her. 

Darcey was sat outside the studios in the cold, sobbing. She regretted her decision to come to the studios and her decision to go backstage and find her friends. And most of all, she regretted that interview. How could she have been so stupid?! Of course it had come across like she was trying to cut out one of the best parts of her life, like it had never existed. Why hadn't she just answered the question? If she had, Bruno and Shirley would still be her friends and everything would have been absolutely fine. 

Admittedly, she hadn't received a message from either Bruno or Shirley in a couple of weeks now... ever since the interview in fact... but that wasn't anything unusual. They didn't always speak every day, because of how busy they were. Sometimes they would only speak a couple of times a month, but they were still always as close as ever. 

Were. Nowadays they weren't. 

Motsi caught up with her finally and sat down next to her, putting her arms around her.

"Hey," she whispered, "I'm sorry about what happened back there. But if it's of any comfort to you... I don't believe that you did anything wrong. And from what I've heard about you through Craig especially, you seem like the nicest person." 

Darcey broke down even more at that, and the younger woman pulled her closer, holding her tightly. Motsi hated to see anybody cry, and this was breaking her heart. 

"Listen to me... Bruno will come around. He's just angry at the moment, but he will come around," Motsi tried to comfort her. 

"I'm not sure he will..." Darcey wept, "he's never been angry at me before." 

"Just give him some time. I'm sure that he'll talk to you again." 

Darcey had never spoken to Motsi before today, but now she clung to her, sobbing. She felt pathetic, sitting on the front steps of her old place of work a complete emotional wreck... but she couldn't help it. 

All those years of friendship now gone.... she couldn't bear it. 

And all because she had wanted to be asked about something other than strictly for a change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't my favourite chapter, but I hope I did it justice and I hope it's realistic. I won't lie, I shed a few tears writing it... 
> 
> What did you guys think? I always love to hear your feedback.
> 
> I'll hopefully publish the next chapter by the end of the week, I've not finished the next chapter yet but we shall see how it goes. 
> 
> Stay safe, stay tuned and stay happy... and thank you for over 200 reads! You guys are amazing and I appreciate all of you. I love you all so much!! ❤


	17. the right choices

"..And so I told her that I never want to talk again, and then walked out the building!" Bruno came to the end of his story, trying his hardest not to shout. 

It was 7am the next morning and Bruno was sat in Costa with Len Goodman, his fellow judge on Dancing With The Stars in America.

Between September and December, the two of them spent a lot of time together - in fact, they had apartments next to one another in Los Angeles. They always travelled together on the plane too, and Bruno really loved having his colleague for company- someone to complain with when the jet lag got bad and someone to laugh with about the craziest of things. He had been really upset when he found that Len was leaving the British show, in fact he had cried, but he was comforted slightly by the knowledge that they would still do the American version for a couple more years together. 

Bruno genuinely loved all the people he worked with - in fact, he wasn't actually sure that he could call it work. Len was his saviour, and he couldn't ask for a better travelling partner and Los Angeles neighbour than him. They might argue sometimes - mostly over Bruno's use of Len's full first name (which he hated) - but Bruno knew he couldn't do all this travelling without him. 

Shirley was someone he could have real fun with, and he had known her for years. Her ex-husband Corky had been a pro on Dancing with the Stars and her son Mark worked with the show too, so he had known her ever since he started doing the show as she was a frequent audience member. Craig had been there with him through thick and thin, and he had had many adventures with him that he would never forget. Motsi he had become really close to especially since he went over to her house after the date from hell, and he absolutely loved her positive attitude and bubbly personality. And Darcey... well, he had really admired her credentials and felt like he could talk to her about anything, but not anymore. 

Darcey was out of his life now, and he needed to stop thinking about her. 

"Bruno, I'm sorry, but I think you're being very dramatic about this," Len responded, drinking down his cup of coffee. Early mornings were not his thing, and the only reason he got through the early mornings was because of the coffee that he consumed. "You've known Darcey for so many years now, do you actually think that she would have meant that maliciously?" 

"Yes, I do," retorted Bruno, and Len sighed. He loved Bruno, he really did, but trying to reason with him when he was like this was like talking to a brick wall. 

"Well, if that's what you want to think, go ahead," he said simply, hoping that the conversation would end there, and that the subject would change to something more... light hearted. 

But of course, it didn't. 

"Literally nobody seems to agree with me that she really fucked up," Bruno muttered under his breath, dunking the biscuit provided with his drink. "I get you all liked her, but you'd point it out if I fucked up, so why is everyone acting like she's some type of saint?" 

"We're not, we just aren't being over dramatic like you," Len replied, a bit harsher than he actually intended. "Now for God's sake, it's 7 in the morning and you've been nothing but negative since we got here. Can we talk about something else?" 

Bruno rolled his eyes, but nodded, and so they began chatting about who they thought would do well in Dancing with the Stars this week and who would not do so well. There was to be no elimination this week, as somebody had had to withdraw thanks to injury, but they still chatted about who they thought would score high or low. 

"Ally I think will do well this week. She's improved so much since her opening dance," Bruno said, adjusting the big black sunglasses he wore as a family entered the cafe. He loved fans and all, but it was so early in the morning and he hadn't slept particularly well last night thanks to everything that had happened at Elstree. 

"Her opening dance suffered because of a bad music choice. Yeah, it's lovely that they had her dance to a song that she sang in, but it didn't suit the style," Len replied with brutal honesty. "I'm most looking forward to James... now, he's good." 

"He really is good. But whatever happens, I know it's going to be a very unpredictable week. The standards are so high again this year, you never know what will happen next." 

"And that's what I love most about these shows. You never know what will happen next," Len replied, glad that Bruno had finally stopped being so negative. "Now, finish your coffee. We have a flight to catch in just over an hour." 

.. 

"Okay, what the actual heck was with the elimination last night?" Jorge exclaimed down the phone, before even saying hello. 

Motsi couldn't help but chuckle - she had fully expected Jorge to do that. She, Jorge and Joachim hadn't phoned after the show last night - after everything that happened, all Motsi wanted to do was curl up and sleep. They had had to wait till late afternoon to call today, because Joachim had a golf session that he simply couldn't miss, but now they were finally all sat down and ready to chat about week four of strictly. 

Joachim and Jorge again had watched it together, and they had been beyond shocked to see somebody they thought would be a finalist, get eliminated. 

"Jorge literally screamed 'NO! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!' at the TV when it was announced Dev was in the bottom two," Joachim chuckled, remembering how his friend had reacted. 

"I think you made the right choice, can I just clarify that, Motsi. Emma was better in the dance off, and I would have voted for her if I was on the panel. But the fact Dev was even in the dance off, was just wrong." 

"It was a horrible decision to have to make, I hated upsetting Dev and seeing Dianne cry hurt," Motsi sighed, propping her phone up against some pillows and laying back on her bed. "That's one thing I like about Let's Dance in a way... we don't have to break someone's heart by sending them home. It's all down to the public." 

"I get you, chica, but you've definitely eliminated the right people in all of the dance offs so far. I've agreed with you and even Llambi here has agreed with you. And we all know how infrequently you and him agree on anything on these shows." 

"I have, you've made the right choices each week with regards to eliminations," nodded Joachim. "We're extremely proud of you." 

That made Motsi smile - knowing that her two best friends were proud of her.

"Awwww, thanks guys," she beamed, feeling a lot better with that simple comment. "So, enough about me. Joachim, how did your golf session go?" 

They chatted for a while about non strictly-related things, and Motsi caught up with everything happening in Germany. Joachim had been playing golf all week, and apparently had won a game he played the other day. Jorge was travelling to his birth country Cuba that night to celebrate his close friend's 50th birthday, but he would be coming back on Thursday ready and in time for strictly on Saturday. As they spoke, in fact, he was packing, throwing summer clothes into his suitcase. 

"I sincerely hope that the weather is better over in Cuba - the weather in Germany this week has been absolutely dreadful," Jorge stressed, as he tried to zip his suitcase shut. "Apart from today, which has to be the day I'm leaving, it's rained literally non-stop." 

"Try living in the UK. It rains at least twice a week," Motsi laughed, rolling her eyes at the window. Rain was falling heavily outside, and it was so cold that she was wearing at least three layers of clothing. "Right now, it's raining." 

"Sorry to change the subject back to strictly, Motsi, but what's all this about Bruno not being there this upcoming week?" Jorge changed the subject suddenly.

"Oh, you know how he does Dancing With The Stars in America? Well, they let him have one week off of strictly, because of the travelling, and they usually get in a guest judge. This week, they've got somebody called Alfonso Ribeiro. He won Dancing With The Stars a few years ago, and he filled in for Bruno last year as well.. and from what I heard, he's the most popular of all the guest judges they've had on the show." 

"I'm excited to see how he does! Although I really like Bruno, so I hope he will be back next week," Jorge replied. 

"Oh, he'll definitely be back next week." 

"Good! Anyway, guys, I'm going to have to go now because I need to get ready to go to the airport for my flight to Cuba, but I'll message you when I land." 

"Please do," Motsi smiled, "and have a great time in Cuba." 

"Thank you!" 

"I'd better go as well, but before I go, Motsi, there's one thing I need to say to you." 

"And just what might that be, Joachim?" 

"Your scoring was pretty good this week," Joachim said dryly. "But, there's no way that Mike deserved a 9... maybe a 6 or a 7 would have been better.. Craig got it correct..." 

"Joachim, for the hundredth time, you are not judging this!!" Jorge exclaimed. 

"Oh, Joachim, of course you'd say that," Motsi laughed, rolling her eyes. "But you know what?" 

"What?" 

"At least I'm not as generous as Roman Frieling." 

Joachim and Jorge both laughed, and Joachim rolled his eyes at the mention of his former colleague, who had once given a couple a ten when he had given them a two. 

"That's very true, I don't think you could ever get that bad," Joachim replied, rolling his eyes. "Now, I really must go... speak soon." 

"Talk soon. Bye guys!" Motsi beamed, waving. 

And with that, she terminated the phone call, still laughing over that moment in one of the earlier series of Let's Dance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the reads, comments and support on this story, I'm absolutely loving writing it for you all. 
> 
> The moment with Roman that I mentioned can be found on the internet. Just type Thomas Karaoglan week 3 tango into Google, and you'll find the video. The reactions were absolutely hilarious 😂😂


	18. emotional

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The longest chapter yet. Enjoy ;)

Week five of strictly came around fast and before she knew it, Motsi was arriving at the studios for the show. This week was the week that Bruno wouldn't be there - the week where he would stop over in Los Angeles and just rest. Motsi couldn't blame him for asking to have that written into his contract... travelling backwards and forwards each week and constantly being jet lagged surely couldn't be easy for him. 

So this week, Alfonso Ribiero would be stepping in as a guest judge, and Motsi was beyond excited to meet him at last. She had heard so much about him through the other judges, who all really seemed to like him and get on with him. 

Motsi, Craig and Shirley had spent quite a bit of time together that week, as they were taking part in a group dance on the results show. They had attended rehearsals on Thursday and Friday, and they had had a lot of fun together. Both Motsi and Craig had, however, refrained from mentioning Darcey's name so as not to cause tension between them and Shirley. They still believed that it was absolute bullshit, the theory that Darcey wanted to erase strictly from her life completely... but they didn't speak any more about it - at least whilst Shirley was around. 

The group dance they were taking part in was a red carpet, fashion themed dance and they would have to walk down the carpet together, along with some of the professional dancers. Alfonso was to be in it too, but he hadn't been able to get over to England before yesterday. Therefore, he was going to have an extra rehearsal this afternoon before they did it in front of the live audience later that evening. 

"Alfonso isn't here just yet," Craig told Motsi, as he walked her inside like he always did. "He'll be here soon, hopefully in time for lunch." 

And Alfonso did indeed appear just in time fo lunch. Just as Shirley was getting all the things laid out for their weekly dressing room picnic, there was a knock at the door and Shirley opened it to find Alfonso standing there, dressed in a casual sweater and jeans, a huge smile on his face. 

"Well hello there!" he exclaimed, in a strong American accent. 

"Hello, my darling!" Shirley cried, hugging Alfonso tightly. "Do come in! It's lovely to see you again." 

"And it's lovely to be back here! I'm so looking forward to tonight - this series is looking absolutely amazing so far," Alfonso gushed, moving over and hugging Craig. "Lovely to see you again Craig - and you must be Motsi Mabuse." 

"That's me," Motsi laughed as she was immediately pulled into a hug. "I've heard a lot about you." 

"It's so wonderful to meet you at last! And I've heard a lot about you too - I saw Bruno the other day in Los Angeles and he told me so much about you," Alfonso remarked, sitting down on the floor. "Is this our lunch? This looks great!" 

"Yeah, this is the usual judges picnic," Motsi nodded. 

"We had one last year when I was here," Alfonso smiled, "Craig, Shirley, me and Darcey. I was really sad to hear that Darcey-" 

"Okay, I'm just going to go and phone Danny and tell him something, back in a minute!" Shirley said in a voice that was much louder than necessary, before leaving the room hastily. As she shut the door behind her, Alfonso looked at the other two with great confusion. 

"Did I say something...?" 

"Shirley and Bruno aren't exactly friendly with Darcey right now," Craig explained quickly, realising that Alfonso didn't know what went down last week.

"What? Why? I thought they were really good friends..?" 

Alfonso had definitely received that impression last year, when he had judged. Darcey had seemed extremely close with all judges - he couldn't judge Bruno's friendship with her but from what he had seen, Shirley and Darcey were like best friends, and Craig and Darcey had a very brother and sister like relationship. Had that really been acting the whole time..? Or had something happened since he was last in the UK...?

"They were. Basically, Darcey refused to talk about the show in an interview the other week, because that's literally all she has been asked about since she left, and Shirley and Bruno have chosen to believe some fabricated article that said she wanted to cut the show out her life, over her word." 

"Woah. Darcey doesn't strike me as that kind of person," Alfonso replied, "she really seemed to love the show, at least that's the impression I got." 

"She does love the show. She always did - she's always been so passionate about it, it definitely wasn't something she acted," Craig said in a convinced tone. "The journalists have made a mountain out of a molehill, the way I see it. But for whatever reason, Shirley and Bruno think she doesn't care about us anymore, and are really angry with her. Last weekend, Bruno shouted at her and told her that he no longer wants to speak to her, and Shirley didn't exactly disagree with Bruno. So, Alfonso, I'd advise you not to mention Darcey's name... at least not whilst Shirley is around." 

Alfonso merely nodded to that, because at that moment, Shirley came walking back into the room. They very quickly changed the subject, talking about the pro dance that they were going to be in later, and Shirley lightened up and joined in the conversation. 

Darcey's name was not mentioned at all after that. Instead, Motsi got to know more about Alfonso, and Alfonso asked Motsi lots of questions about herself. And the more she talked to him, the more Motsi liked him - she found him very easy to talk to, and he had a fantastic sense of humour as well. He was very open about everything, from his DWTS journey to his personal life, and Motsi instantly found a lot of respect for the man that was sitting the opposite side of the picnic blanket. 

After a while of talking about themselves, the conversation turned to this year's strictly contestants, and Shirley and Craig joined in more. 

"So, Alfonso, who's your favourite this year?" Shirley asked, helping herself to some more of the salad. 

"Kelvin, definitely. That samba - holy shit, I'm still not over it," Alfonso responded. "Motsi, isn't that your sister that he dances with?" 

"Yeah, Oti's my younger sister," Motsi nodded, "by 11 years." She chuckled. "My favourite contestant is actually Kelvin as well, although don't let the paparazzi hear me saying that or they'll think that I'm being biased because I'm related to Oti." 

"I think it's ridiculous that some people think you aren't capable of judging your sister fairly," Craig said frankly. "Yeah, you're related and of course you want her to do well, but at the end of the day you're professional. And I know that if Jonathan did the show, I wouldn't just give him high scores every week because he's my boyfriend. I'd only give him the scores that he deserved." 

"There was a similar situation on Dancing With The Stars actually," Alfonso chimed in, "where one of the professional dancers was judged by his sister. Derek and Julianne Hough - you might know of them? By the way, Shirley, thanks so much for that lovely lunch." 

"You're more than welcome, Alfonso. And I should hope that Craig knows of them, considering my relationship with the two of them!" Shirley laughed, beginning to tidy up the lunch things. "They lived with me and my ex husband for ten years and thetwo of us coached them in dancing," she explained to Motsi, who was looking confused. 

"But yeah, there was a lot of controversy surrounding that and a lot of people were convinced that Julianne would show bias towards Derek and his partner," Alfonso went on, Motsi listening avidly. "But personally, I think she was very impartial. She's professional, and you're professional." 

"And so far, I think she's done a great job!" Craig patted Motsi on the shoulder. "Now, what I think we should do is relax for half an hour and let our lunch digest, and then go and get practicing for our group routine."

"Sounds good to me," Shirley agreed, laying down on the sofa and burying her head in the pillow. "Wake me up when you're ready." 

.. 

Every single week, as she sat there on the judging panel, Motsi thought to herself, this is my favourite week yet. And then the next week, she would think the same, and the week after that. She was thinking it now as she sat on the judging panel between Craig and Shirley, Alfonso on the end fizzing with excitement. After a difficult week last week, what with Dev's shocking elimination and the whole Darcey situation backstage, Motsi honestly felt as though week five would be the best yet. 

And the dancing didn't disappoint. 

Kelvin and Oti's cha-cha was phenomenal like all their other dances and scored 33/40 from the judges. It was also revealed on their VT that Aston Merrygold, the artist who sang the song they danced to (who had actually been on strictly two years prior), came to visit them in training. He gave them some great encouragement, which evidently spurred them on to do well on the night. 

David tried very hard, but his jive just wasn't great. He only scored 16 points from the judges, and the fact that he had gone on early in the evening put him in dance off danger. The first few people to dance on a live show, especially in the early stages of strictly, had to try extra hard to not be forgettable, and Motsi feared that David's dance was going to be exactly that - forgettable. 

Catherine and Johannes actually got fewer points than the week before, for their tango to an Annie Lennox song. The week before, they had done a Charleston to the Beyonce hit "Single Ladies", and that had been a crowd pleaser because of how much fun it was. Their dance this week, Motsi felt, lacked some sharpness and some attack, and so she had to score them seven - one point less than last weekend. 

Karim and Amy's salsa to Who Let The Dogs Out was one that Motsi had been intrigued to see all week. She wasn't entirely sure how the song would work as a salsa song - it just didn't strike her as an obvious choice. But they astounded her with how well they performed it, and the song actually went pretty well with the dance, which Motsi had not been expecting. She scored the dance a ten, Craig scoring an eight and Alfonso and Shirley reaching for their nine paddles. 

Michelle and Giovanni's rumba to a Sam Smith song lacked some elements that a rumba really needed, but Motsi really liked Michelle's aura and the emotion that was put into the dance. The other judges pretty much agreed with her on that comment, and Motsi scored them a 7, as did Shirley and Craig, with Alfonso giving them an 8. 

Then came Emma Barton and Anton with their pasodoble. Unfortunately, it wasn't as high scoring as their Viennese waltz the previous week, and they dropped from 35 points to 26. It was obvious they were mildly disappointed but Emma vowed, up in the Clauditorium, that she was going to take it all as constructive criticism and come out and dance even better next weekend. 

Following Emma was Alex and Neil, with their Charleston to a song named Pump up the Jam. The week before, they had been at the bottom of the leaderboard with their tango, but the improvement this week was beyond incredible. Their Charleston was a dance that saw Craig, Motsi and Shirley reaching for their 8 paddles, and Alfonso for his 9 paddle. 

"I can't get over what an improvement that was from the tango," Motsi whispered to Craig, and Craig nodded in agreement. 

That was one of Motsi's favourite things on Let's Dance and now on strictly - seeing people who weren't always naturally talented dancers improve. Guaranteed, she loved seeing the ringers - the people who scored high week after week - but she also loved it when the contestants went on a journey. Alex and Neil looked like they were going to be one of those couples that went on a real journey. 

Emma Weymouth and Aljaž came next with their Viennese waltz, and they were another couple that completely turned it around from the previous week. Last week, she had been in the dance off and escaped elimination and this week she placed second on the leaderboard with 36 points. Motsi commented on the transformation, on how much she had improved, and she secretly believed that the dance off was actually the best thing that could have happened last week. It gave Emma even more passion and drive to succeed and she had more than surpassed herself tonight. 

"I hope that this isn't just a one time thing. I really hope she comes back and does this well again next week," Shirley murmured to her colleagues. 

"I think she's just gone from mildly forgettable to memorable," Craig remarked, "I think that dance off really did motivate her." 

"I agree." 

Mike and Katya followed, and Alfonso cheered as he heard the opening bars of the music. They were dancing to a song that featured in a very famous scene of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the sitcom that Alfonso was most well known for featuring in as Carlton Banks, and Alfonso could hardly contain his excitement. 

"They definitely only chose this song to pander to Alfonso," Craig rolled his eyes at the end of the table. "There's no way this would have been chosen any other week." 

Everyone went absolutely wild when the dance ended, and Alfonso was on his feet along with the audience. 

"Alfonso, that's your song! Did they do it justice?" Tess asked, and Alfonso smiled. 

"Well, we aren't going to talk about the samba," he chuckled, "but I tell you what we are going to do." 

And with that, he got out of his chair to loud applause and went over to Mike and Katya, breaking out into the dance moves his character had been famous for. Mike and Katya joined in, as did Tess, and Motsi did the movements in her seat.

Although it wasn't the highest scoring dance of the night, or the most technically challenging of the night, Motsi's standout dance came after Mike and Katya. It was Will's turn to dance his couples choice, and he and Janette had chosen contemporary, set to the Lukas Graham song Seven Years. Janette had created the most beautiful routine based around Will's story and his battle with his health over the years, and Motsi found herself welling up with tears even before the dance started. The contemporary dances always left her feeling a little emotional. 

The dance wasn't perfect. There were a few little mistakes here and there, and at the end there was a bit of a mishap with Janette's long and flowing dress. But that didn't matter much to Motsi, or any of the judges. The most beautiful thing about this dance and the thing that made it so special was the storytelling, the way the journey Will had been on was conveyed and summed up in 90 seconds. It all touched Motsi in a way that she hadn't been touched before, and as she stood up and applauded, she could see that Alfonso too was emotional. 

"That was one emotional dance! Anything you would like to say, Motsi? Are you able to speak?" Tess came to her, and the South African beauty was quite overcome with emotion. 

She opened her mouth to say just how much she was moved by it, and how much of an inspiration the Paralympian was to so many people out there tonight, but before she could utter any words, she started to cry. 

"Motsi," Shirley said softly, reaching over and taking hold of her hand, beginning to stroke it gently with her thumb. 

Motsi covered her hands with her eyes and let out the emotion, forgetting how many people were watching. 

Will, who was looking very emotional himself, immediately walked up to the judges desk and embraced her in a hug, which earned a round of applause from the audience. Motsi whispered to him that he was amazing, that being all she was able to choke out, and he thanked her, telling her that he was sorry for making her cry like this. 

Motsi said nothing else, gave no critique. She wasn't pushed to say anything- She was far too emotional for that, and the fact that she had just cried in front of millions of people on live television said it all. They moved onto Shirley's critique, and then to Alfonso, who was just as emotional, and then finally onto Craig. 

"You okay?" Shirley asked, as their microphones were switched off once again and Janette and Will made their way up to the Clauditorium ready to receive their scores. 

"I'm fine," Motsi nodded, wiping her eyes with the tissue that Tess had given her, thankful she was wearing waterproof mascara. "That dance just... touched me." 

"I get the feeling, Motsi," Alfonso said, leaning across Shirley so as to talk to her. "Look at me... it's rare I get choked up over something like this and here I am, tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat on live television." 

The final two couples to perform were Chris and Karen with their quickstep and Saffron and AJ with their foxtrot. Chris coped very well with a difficult dance, and scored 26 points in total, but they most definitely saved the best to last. 

Saffron's dance was stunning. It was classy and technically great and there was some very fancy work with a cane, and Motsi gave out her second ten of the night. Alfonso gave out his first ten as well, and the crowd went wild. 

After the voting numbers were read out, and a short clip of each dance was played as a reminder, the cameras stopped filming and the cast were allowed to go backstage. Craig headed off to see Jonathan and a friend that he had brought with him for that week, and Shirley headed off to see Danny as usual. 

"Hey, do you want to go backstage to the dressing rooms and just chat?" Motsi suggested, and Alfonso grinned and nodded. 

"Yes. That sounds like a plan." 

And singing Jump On It to himself, Alfonso cheerfully followed Motsi backstage to have a drink and a chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will's contemporary is most definitely one of my favourite dances of all time, and it always makes me cry like a baby. I was gutted when they had to withdraw, but if there was ever a good dance to go out on... 
> 
> This chapter has actually been split into two parts, because it got reallyyyyy long 😂 not long by TLG standards but long for this book, so I've split it into two. The next part should be out in the next few days so please look out for it. 
> 
> I hope you guys are enjoying this story just as much as I am! Thank you all for your support and love on this, there's still lots more to come! 
> 
> Love you all ❤


	19. her true feelings

The results show on Sunday had, fortunately, gone without a hitch. The group dance that the judges were appearing in was perfect, not a step wrong, and Motsi was so proud of herself and everyone else that took part in it - especially her sister and Johannes. Bruno had been sad to have missed out on it, but he had watched the show in his apartment in Los Angeles and tweeted about how proud he was of his friends. 

David had been the one sent home - after finding himself in the dance off against Mike and Katya, the result was unanimous. Alfonso wasn't exactly happy that Mike and Katya were in the dance off, but he was happy that he got to see their dance again, danced even better this time. It had been sad to see David go, but Motsi knew that it was just the way the competition went - each week, somebody had to leave. It didn't make it any easier to say goodbye, though. Even though she felt bad about it, Joachim and Jorge had reassured her she had made the right decision and in her heart of hearts, Motsi knew she had made the right decision as well. 

It had been a busy weekend, but this week was going to be the busiest week for Motsi since the series began. It was going to be full on and exhausting, but at the same time she was extremely excited for everything that she would be doing. 

Today, Wednesday, she was filming a segment for the Jonathan Ross Show. Due to Dancing With The Stars, Bruno couldn't be there, but Craig and Shirley would be there by her side and she was greatly looking forward to it. She had watched the Jonathan Ross Show interview that Craig, Darcey and Shirley did the year before, and she was excited to do it herself and meet Jonathan Ross as well, ahead of his party next week.

Tomorrow, she was going to be appearing on It Takes Two, the spin off show hosted by Zoe Ball. She hadn't been on it yet, but tomorrow she would be doing an interview with the woman who had come third in an early series of the main show with Ian Whaite. From what she had heard, it was always great fun and very lighthearted. Then, Friday, she was going to be going Halloween shopping with Craig and Jonathan. Bruno already had his costume, so he didn't need to go shopping for anything, but Craig and Jonathan needed some bits and were insistent on helping Motsi pick out her costume. Motsi was extremely grateful for this - it had been so long since she last dressed up for Halloween and any advice on what to wear and what not to wear from an honest person like Craig was greatly appreciated. 

Currently, she was walking down to the metro station to catch the metro across to the studios where the Jonathan Ross Show was filmed. Because the studio was about a ten minute walk from the station she would get off at, Craig had promised Motsi to wait on the platform for her to walk her to the building. Motsi was extremely grateful for this. 

It was the middle of the afternoon and the metro station was busy as Motsi descended the stairs, full of chattering and giggling people waiting to go on their journey. Motsi had always loved people watching and she did that now as she took a seat and waited for the metro to come. As she looked around, she could see a family obviously off to the airport, as they were carrying all their luggage with them. Smiling at the children, who were running around excitedly, she wondered just where they might be off to. Maybe Spain, or France, or Italy perhaps? Opposite her, an elderly couple were waiting for the metro as well, smartly dressed - maybe they were going for dinner somewhere? Or maybe they were meeting some friends or family members? Wondering these things kept her busy until the metro began to approach in the distance, and the people that were waiting stood up to get on it as soon as it stopped. 

Motsi chose a seat in the middle of the metro, near the door so that she could get off quickly and easily when her stop came. Whilst the vehicle raced off to the next stop inside the tunnel, the South African beauty texted Joachim and Jorge, just to let them know that she was on her way to the show. It wasn't live, so they wouldn't be watching it tonight - it was due to air on Saturday night almost straight after the strictly live show. They would watch it via their VPN on Saturday, whilst Motsi and all the other strictly cast members were filming the results show - a results show she imagined would be very emotional. 

The competition was really starting to become a proper competition now that almost all the ones with less dance ability had been sent home, and from this week on, Motsi knew that making dance off decisions was going to be even more difficult. She couldn't even begin to imagine how difficult it must be for Shirley. Although she didn't have to vote every week - only when Motsi, Craig and Bruno's votes weren't unanimous - she often had to make some of the most difficult decisions of all, like sending Aston and Janette home, for instance. Shirley had told Motsi all about that night, how she had broken down sobbing in her dressing room backstage after the show because she was so upset about having to make that decision, and also because of the public being so vile to her. Death threat after death threat with her name tagged came through from livid viewers and it caused the Wallasey-born star to break down completely, Bruno being the one to find her in the state that she was in and being the one to try and comfort her. 

Motsi 💃🏿: on my way to the studio to film the Jonathan Ross show !!! I'll message you and let you know how it goes when we get back 😘😘

Joachim ⚀: good luck Motsi!! You'll be great!! 

Jorge 🕺: Buena suerte chicaaaaaaaa!! Good luck!!! 😘😘

Motsi smiled; she truly was so grateful for all the support that she was getting from her friends. She honestly couldn't have asked for better support from Joachim and Jorge. 

.. 

"So, what week are you wanting to do?" Jorge asked Joachim, as they sat together on Joachim's sofa that evening. "I was thinking maybe musicals week, because from what I've heard the judges are generally in a group dance that week." 

"I can do every week but the final," Joachim explained, "because that week, I have to go to Spain to celebrate a friend's birthday. It's not like I can really get out of it, because it is her 40th." 

"Fair enough," Jorge nodded. "I think I'm more drawn to musicals week, but I don't mind, honestly." 

"I'm up for musicals week. And if there's a likelihood that Motsi will be in a group dance, then it makes it even more of a reason to be there," Joachim responded, clicking the buttons on his computer. "Right then, shall we call up Oti and ask her to help get it sorted?" 

Jorge nodded. "Great idea." 

So Joachim dialled Oti's number and the two men waited for her to respond. It took only two rings until she picked up, and after finding out that she was training, but would give Kelvin a break whilst they talked, Jorge began to explain. 

"Basically, we want to come and surprise Motsi at one of the strictly live shows," the Cuban salsa dancer explained, "more than likely musicals week. And we wanted your help in getting everything sorted, because we don't want to tell Motsi." 

"Jorge, that generally is the definition of a surprise," Joachim said in a dry tone. 

"That's such a wonderful idea! I'm sure she'll be thrilled," Oti beamed, already able to imagine the shock and delight on her sister's face when she realised that two of her best friends were there to support her. "I'll definitely get you guys seats reserved. So musicals week?" 

Joachim and Jorge exchanged glances, then both nodded. "Yep, musicals week seems like the best for us I'd say. What date is that?"

"Okay then, I'll get you guys booked in! And it's the last weekend in November, I think. Yeah, I'm sure it is! How have you guys been enjoying the series so far?" 

"Weve been absolutely loving it," Jorge gushed. "You and Kelvin are doing amazing! I'm still not over your samba. It was - wow!" 

"Jorge has been fangirling for the past almost six weeks over that dance," Joachim interjected in the same dry tone as before. "Seriously though, it was amazing. We're definitely rooting for you two! What dance have you got this week?" 

"Thanks, Jorge," Oti laughed, "and thank you too, Joachim! This week we have the tango, and Kelvin's doing really well so far. I'm really proud of him!" 

"We're looking forward to seeing it," Jorge smiled. "Well, we best not keep you, especially as you're training... but good luck to you both, and we'll be watching and rooting for you on Saturday night." 

"Thank you so much, guys! Talk soon... and I'll get everything sorted for you for musicals week and let you know when it's official," Oti smiled, before putting down the phone and going back for a last few run throughs of the tango with Kelvin. 

As the call was disconnected, Joachim turned to Jorge, practical as ever. 

"Looks like we have some flights to the UK to book!" 

.. 

The Jonathan Ross show turned out to be even more fun than Motsi had imagined. Jonathan Ross himself was lovely, both on and off screen, and acted like a true gentleman to all of his guests. Of the other guests (besides Shirley and Craig obviously), Motsi only recognised one of them - Liam Payne, former member of the boy band One Direction - but she soon found herself chattering away with all of them as they waited to begin filming with Jonathan. 

The main thing that Jonathan wanted to talk about with Motsi, Craig and Shirley was of course strictly, particularly about how Motsi was finding her first series. Motsi had nothing but good things to say about it, talking about how much she was loving the show and how well she really did get on with Craig, Bruno and Shirley off air. 

"We get on amazingly well... I couldn't ask for better people to do this show with," Motsi replied to that question. "I'm so lucky that on both shows I judge on, I have the best people to do it with - Craig, Bruno and Shirley in the UK, and the lovely Joachim Llambi and Jorge Gonzalez in Germany." 

As she said that, both Craig and Shirley squeezed her hands. 

The funniest moment was when Jonathan replayed Craig's gaffe over Anton's teeth from movie week. The look of pure mortification on Craig's face was hilarious.

"You're never going to live this down, Craig!" Motsi cried. 

But then, halfway through the interview, a potential awkward moment occurred. 

"Craig, Shirley, have you guys been missing Darcey on the panel?" Jonathan asked. 

Craig immediately turned to Shirley, the look in his eyes begging her not to refuse to answer the question or say something rude about Darcey on air. Yes, the show wasn't live and any errors could be edited out - but it would create such an awkward atmosphere for the rest of the evening if Shirley expressed her true feelings. 

Shirley so wanted to make a rude response, one that would show just how hurt she was by her former friend's actions. But no matter how much she hated someone she would never try and ruin their reputation on live television, and so she responded through rather gritted teeth, "well yeah, we did two series together and became close during that time. But I'm glad that she is doing what makes her happy now... and I'm loving having Motsi on the panel this year. She's truly fitted in so well." 

Craig gave the Queen of Latin another look as she finished speaking - this time, one that read thank you for keeping your mouth shut about how you really feel about Darcey.

Jonathan moved onto the other guests after that, though he did still talk with Craig, Motsi and Shirley every now and again, and the rest of the show passed very quickly. And before they knew it, they were all heading backstage to their dressing rooms, satisfied with how the filming had gone.

"Thank you for not losing it, Shirley," Craig thanked his colleague as they closed the door to the dressing room - they were all sharing one for convenience. 

"Who do you think I am, Craig Revel Horwood? I may not be on good terms with Darcey right now - and that's putting it mildly - but I'd never ruin her reputation on television." Shirley grabbed her clothes and headed off to the bathrooms, signalling the subject was closed. 

"Well," Craig said as soon as the woman was out of earshot, "at least she kept her true feelings concealed during filming." 

And to that, Motsi just began to change out of her pink dress and nodded, relieved that they had avoided an awkward situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Craig will never live #teethgate down... it's just too iconic 😂
> 
> The part about Shirley, and Aston's elimination was in the original time of my life and I'm actually going to be writing a one shot about it soon. I'll let you all know when it's published ;) 
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapter in the comments! 
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading, your support means the world to me ❤ stay safe, stay happy and stay tuned!


	20. the anger inside

Craig 🎤: hey darling, we are waiting outside x

As soon as Darcey saw the message from her friend flash up on her screen, she smiled and grabbed her bag from the sofa. Calling a goodbye to her daughters Phoebe and Zoe, who were going out with friends later that evening, she made her way out to the car, where Craig and Jonathan were waiting for her. 

Using his great powers of persuasion, Craig had convinced Darcey to attend the Jonathan Ross Halloween party with him, Jonathan and Motsi on Halloween. Bruno would be there too, but he would be spending most of the night hanging around with Jason, and it went without saying that Craig and Jason didn't exactly love each other. Unlike Bruno with Darcey at this moment in time, Craig was civil, but Jason wasn't somebody that he wanted to spend an extended amount of time with, especially after that date from hell and the time that Jason acted really disrespectfully at rehearsals for the launch show group dance. So, on hearing that, Darcey had agreed to come with them, and be their guest. And therefore tonight, she was going shopping with the trio to get a Halloween costume. 

Dashing over to the car, Darcey smiled at her friends as she climbed into the back seat. 

"Thanks for inviting me along," she said warmly, leaning over and giving both men a hug - Motsi had not yet been picked up. 

"You're more than welcome! We've missed spending time with you - and well, seeing as Bruno will be with Jason half the night and I don't want to spend any longer than necessary with that guy, I hardly think he'll notice." 

"Why don't you like this Jason?" Darcey asked curiously, as Jonathan put the car in gear and began to drive in the direction of Motsi's house. "I can't say I know much about him... you know I don't tend to watch reality TV." 

"I just don't think he's the right guy for Bruno," Craig replied. "There was an incident before the launch show where he came to watch us in rehearsals, spent the entire time on his phone, and then rushed off without even saying a proper goodbye. And then there was one night where Jason invited Bruno on a date but instead of it being a proper date, he just took him to his friend's house to play racing games on one of those cool gadgets people play with nowadays. And he doesn't spend much time with him... mostly working away... and doesn't really show much interest in coming to the live shows of strictly. I don't know... I just think Bruno could do so much better than him..." 

They fell into a silence after that small rant from Craig, which lasted until they pulled up outside Motsi's home around fifteen minutes later. The South African beauty was all ready and waiting on her doorstep, handbag swung over her shoulders, bundled up against the freezing cold wind. 

"Thank you for coming to collect me!" she exclaimed, as she climbed into the backseat next to Darcey. 

"No worries, darling," Craig nodded at her, as she fastened her seatbelt. "Next stop - the shopping centre." 

"How are you doing today, Darcey?" Motsi questioned, as they began to drive once again. 

"I'm all right," Darcey nodded, realising that the last time that they had met, she had been practically crying her eyes out on the front doorstep of Elstree studios. "I'm sorry about the first impression you must have received of me." 

"It's fine, honestly! I thought Bruno and Shirley were very rude to you and I want you to know I'm on your side," Motsi replied, patting the older woman's hand. "All of us in this car are on your side." 

"We definitely are," Craig agreed, and Jonathan, who was driving the car, nodded his head in agreement as well. 

"Thanks, guys. I really didn't mean it like I wanted to cut strictly out my life.. strictly was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I just wanted one day, one interview, where I didn't get asked about strictly. I didn't think it was too much to ask." 

"It wasn't. Strictly is just one part of your life... there are so many different sides to you, ones that should be given just as much recognition," Craig told his friend. "I think Bruno and Shirley are being ridiculous with this whole thing and I just hope they come around, and quickly." 

"Thank you, Craigy. I really hope they do as well.." 

Darcey's eyes filled with tears then - she missed Bruno and Shirley more than anyone else would ever know. She missed their phone calls, their text conversations that could last for hours, the fun they would have when they were together. She missed how, even when they didn't talk for weeks, they could talk again and it be like no time had passed at all. She missed how supportive they all were of each other's achievements, and how proud they all felt whenever another achieved something great. She missed it all and she just wished that things could go back to the way they once were. 

"They will one day," Craig said softly, taking hold of his friend's hand to comfort her, and Darcey clutched onto it and hoped beyond hope that he was correct. 

.. 

"So Darcey... what are you planning on being?" 

Darcey had been unsure whether this trip would be a good idea, but she found herself greatly enjoying herself. She really got on well with Motsi - they actually had quite a few things in common, they found. Motsi told Darcey how much she hated voting people out on strictly, especially because that wasn't something that she, Joachim and Jorge had to do on Let's Dance, and Darcey had told her of how she used to feel exactly the same when she was on strictly. 

"I used to get a bit emotional a lot after the show because I hated voting people out... but I remember once, in 2014, I actually burst out crying," Darcey laughed. 

"Oh, when was that?" Motsi asked, as they scanned the shelves together. 

"Basically, in the quarter finals, we had Pixie Lott, who's a singer, and Simon Webbe - another singer, but from a band - in the bottom two. From day one, Pixie had been predicted to be a finalist, and she had a higher average overall than Simon, but she had one bad dance and that week... Simon and Kristina were better. So I had to vote Pixie out and I was literally so upset to see her go... I was a mess. I even almost cried on It Takes Two three nights later!" 

"I've not actually cried at anyone's elimination yet, but I almost cried at Dev's. I cried at Will's contemporary this weekend, though." 

"I did too - that dance was so powerful! Not perfect, but that really didn't matter when it was that emotional and powerful. And oh my goodness, that dance off was an absolute travesty! However, you guys all voted correctly and had I still been a judge, I would have voted Emma through as well." 

Motsi had been a bit worried about talking to Darcey about strictly, as she knew how she felt about the constant questioning by fans and the paparazzi, but Darcey quickly reassured her that it was fine, because they were friends and it wasn't all Motsi wanted to talk about. 

Currently, they were browsing yet another costume shop, and Darcey still hadn't found something she really liked, something that she had never been before. 

"I'm not sure," she replied, "I can't really find anything I like." 

"Well, I was thinking... you know how Jonno and I are doing 101 Dalmatians?" Craig suddenly had an idea. "Well, Shirley was originally going to be one of the Dalmatians... but obviously she won't be coming now. So do you... 

"Want to be one of the Dalmatians?" Darcey laughed. "Sure! I've done crazier things in my time." 

"You've done crazier things? Please enlighten me," Craig joked, his eyes sparkling. 

"Well, there was that time that I decided doing the worm in front of people when I was very drunk was a good idea," Darcey shuddered, "lord knows what possessed me. I've only been properly drunk twice in my life, and that was one of them." 

"So you definitely want to?" Craig confirmed. 

"Yeah! Should be fun," Darcey nodded, and Craig couldn't help but smile at the massive smile that was spread over Darcey's face. He hated to see her upset - well, he hated to see any of his friends hurt or upset, but he had always had a soft spot for Darcey and seeing her upset was something he could hardly bear to see. 

"All right then! Motsi, are you happy with what you've got..?" Craig asked, turning to the younger woman. 

Motsi nodded. She had been unsure at first, but then had decided on being a devil. She had bought a red skirt not unlike the one of her red carpet dress, and a black top, and some horns. She had tried them all on in the changing rooms and had been very happy indeed with the results. Buying everything had made her feel even more excited for the party next week, and she couldn't wait to attend. 

"Right then. I say we go and get some food - we've been walking around this place for nearly three hours and I think we need to get our energy back," Jonathan suggested. 

"Oh, my Jonno, wanting to go and get food is just so you," Craig laughed, slipping his arm around his boyfriend and giving him a kiss. "But I agree." 

Motsi and Darcey both agreed that going to get food would be a good idea as well, and so the four of them began to head up to the food court, relieved that they hadn't been noticed by anybody. 

But that relief didn't last. Just as they stepped outside of the costume shop, three loads of paparazzi headed straight for them, it being obvious that they knew exactly who they were. Darcey tensed up immediately, knowing that this meant a whole lot more questions about why she had left strictly and what she was thinking about the show now that she was no longer there. 

"So Darcey, are you missing strictly this year..? Would you ever go back..? Are you still friends with your co-judges..?" 

The last question made Darcey's eyes fill with tears once again, knowing that she wasn't friends with two out of three of her former co-judges. 

"Yes, she's missing it, no, she doesn't hate anyone at the show or want to cut them out, and no, she wouldn't rule out going back in the future. But yes, she is having a great time working on new projects, thank you so much for asking," Motsi replied with anger flashing in her eyes, before Darcey could even begin to choke out a response. "Now goodbye, and find someone else to question." 

And with that, she marched Darcey away, unable to believe what she had just done. It wasn't often she felt anger, she was generally a calm and collected person who just knew how to stand up for herself when truly necessary. But the look in Darcey's eyes when they came towards her, knowing that strictly was going to be all that they questioned her about... anger at the paparazzi who cared about nothing more than getting even more stories to be published had boiled up inside of her. 

"Thank you for that, Motsi," Darcey said softly, as they continued heading on up to the food court. "You didn't have to do that for me." 

"Yes, I did," Motsi replied, simply. "It's not fair that your day should be ruined by a couple of people who only care about a good story coming over and hassling you. Now, come on, let's go and get some food." 

And as they arrived up at the food court, Motsi, who was feeling very proud of herself indeed, typed out a message to Joachim and Jorge. 

Motsi 💃🏿: I just got a bit snappy with some paparazzi. I don't know what it was, the anger inside of me just came bursting out! More details later !! Xx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about that last part... I had to. You know I had to. 
> 
> Thought I'd write a chapter where we saw a different side to Motsi though! And also some Craig and Darcey friendship (they were literally all I wrote about, once upon a time) and some Motsi and Darcey bonding time as well ;) 
> 
> I hope you liked this chapter - let me know if you did, and alternatively, if you didn't!😂
> 
> The next chapter should be out pretty soon, because I've already got half of it written ;) so look out for it in the next few days! 
> 
> Hope you're enjoying this story as much as I'm writing it 💕
> 
> I'll see you in the next chapter. Stay safe, stay happy and stay tuned! 💕


	21. bored to tears

"Two years ago," Shirley said conversationally as she and Motsi sat side by side in the make up chairs, "I fulfilled a lifelong dream of mine." 

"What's that?" Motsi asked, as the make up artist got to work on making her face look scary for the Halloween theme. 

"I got to dress up as Cruella De Vil on the show," replied Shirley, "Which was something I'd always wanted to do. We had some great costumes that year, us judges - Craig was the Joker, Bruno was Beetlejuice and... uh, Darcey was Little Red Riding Hood." 

She skipped over the last few words quickly, and Motsi could tell that she was nowhere near ready to talk to Darcey again. 

Speaking of Darcey, she and Motsi had become quite close friends since their shopping trip that went slightly wrong at the end. Darcey had been extremely grateful for Motsi standing up for her, seeing as she herself had run out of responses for these paparazzi. Joachim and Jorge had been very impressed with their friend when they heard the full story of what happened with them, and Motsi felt as though she had done something good, although she knew that she would probably hit the headlines any day. 

Tonight on strictly was Halloween, the second of the four themed weeks on the show. Because Let's Dance took place between March and May generally, Motsi never had experienced a Halloween week, so this would be doubly exciting for her. She had heard what everyone was dancing to this week, and absolutely loved the song choices for the dances - Scared of the Dark for a cha-cha and Ghostbusters for a street dance especially. It was going to be a very exciting night, probably the best week so far - although she said that literally every single week. And every single week surpassed her expectations. 

"They all sound amazing! Cruella De Vil is a fantastic character." 

"I got to tick it off my bucket list, and I was so happy," Shirley smiled reminiscently. "So, Motsi, are you looking forward to Jonathan Ross's Halloween party next week?" 

"Definitely. We have our outfits now, and I'm really looking forward to dressing up and actually doing something on the day," Motsi nodded, deciding it would be wise not to mention that Darcey would be accompanying them and dressing up along with them. 

"What are you dressing up as?" 

"I'm going as a devil, and Craig and Jonathan are doing 101 Dalmatians. Craig's being Cruella De Vil funnily enough, and Jonathan and a friend are being his Dalmatians." 

"Yes, Craig told me he was doing Cruella! Because I was meant to be a Dalmatian originally, before the surgery got booked!" Shirley laughed. Her face suddenly became solemn as she mentioned the procedure she would be undergoing later next week. "I do wish that I could still come this year... it's just that it would be too much of a risk for me to do anything like that what with me having my operation just a couple days before. I wasn't exactly advised by my doctors to come back to strictly on Saturday, but I wouldn't miss the show for the world. I'd have to be half dead to miss it." 

"How are you feeling about your surgery...?" Motsi asked tentatively, hoping that she wasn't overstepping a boundary by asking this. 

"To tell you the truth... I'm actually really nervous. I know the doctors and nurses will look after me, but I'm worried about what they might find... and how the surgery will go. There's always risks that come with an anaesthetic and I am really worried. Danny has been amazing though - he's really been so supportive of me." 

"You'll be fine," Motsi reassured her, hoping to make her feel calmer about what must be a scary situation. She couldn't exactly relate, as she hadn't had any operations recently - in fact the last one had been when she was ten, she had had surgery to fix her broken arm, which she had broken whilst dancing around at her home. She had, in her trance, fallen over her own feet and landed on her arm badly, snapping the bone. "Trust me on this one, the doctors and nurses know exactly what they're doing and they won't let any harm come to you. And if they do find something sinister... well, cross that bridge when you come to it. But we'll all be here for you, and so will Danny, so you really don't need to worry." 

"Thanks, Motsi," Shirley smiled at her. "I really appreciate your support on this. Hey, are you looking forward to the show tonight..?" 

"Is that even a question? Of course I am!" Motsi laughed. "I've heard there's some really great dances tonight, and I'm excited to see how everyone gets on. And of course our appearance on Jonathan Ross is being televised tonight, so I'm excited for Joachim and Jorge to watch that. They really are so supportive, it's amazing." 

"They really seem like such lovely people." 

"They are! As I said on the Jonathan Ross Show, I'm lucky that I've got the most amazing people to work with on both shows I judge on." 

"And we're lucky to have you here," Shirley told her, squeezing her hand. "You're doing an amazing job - establishing yourself as one amazing judge." 

"You really think so?" 

"I definitely think so," Shirley nodded, "and so does literally everyone. You've proved so popular with the audiences and everyone... they really seem to have warmed to you." 

Motsi smiled as the hairdressers sprayed her hair yellow in certain parts. That was what she loved to hear - that people liked her just for being her, her authentic self. She just wanted to do the best she could and have fun - and hopefully gain some fans along the way. And it really seemed to all be working out for her. 

.. 

As usual, the show was incredible. As it was a themed week, everyone seemed even more on form than usual, and the judges and all the viewers were treated to some truly amazing dancing. Unfortunately though, Will was unable to perform - during training for his jive, he had sustained a knee injury, and had been told by medics that under no circumstances was he to perform this weekend. He hoped that he would be back on form for next week and ready to continue in the competition after being given a bye this week, but something deep inside of Motsi told her that this wasn't going to be a quick recovery, that he wouldn't be given the green light to continue. 

Everyone else, however, performed so well. It was Michelle and Giovanni who topped the leaderboard, with their Addams family themed foxtrot. Motsi had always been a fan of this film and therefore was extremely excited when Michelle walked down the glittery staircase dressed as Morticia. There was a lot of talk about how Giovanni had topped the leaderboard every Halloween week since becoming a strictly professional, which Motsi considered to be an incredible feat. 

Alex suffered a minor setback in that she had had to learn this routine and would have to perform it with a different pro because Neil had injured himself in training and would not be able to dance. The different pro was Kevin Clifton, and although Motsi secretly preferred Alex and Neil's partnership, Kevin and Alex did a great job together. They were the ones that did the street commercial dance to Ghostbusters, and scored 34 points with the judges, Alex's highest score to date in the competition. 

Emma Weymouth got one of her highest scores, with a Cluedo-themed Charleston. Although it wasn't quite as polished and technically perfect as last week's Viennese waltz, it was still an impressive effort and she scored 30 points. The other Emma, Emma Barton, was towards the bottom of the leaderboard but her tango was still impressive and received two eights from Bruno and Shirley. 

The two lowest scoring dances of the night were Chris and Karen's samba to a Backstreet Boys song, and Catherine and Johannes's cha-cha to Scared of the Dark, one of Steps's most recent hits. As the music for the latter began to play, Craig leaned over and whispered to Motsi, as their microphones were off, "my Jonno will be absolutely loving this song choice in the audience! He's a massive Steps fan." 

Sadly, neither dance was as impressive as it could have been, although neither were bad. Mike and Katya were also fairly low on the leaderboard, although their dance still scored 27 points. 

Kelvin and Oti were amazing as usual, and Motsi couldn't help but sit there and watch her sister dance with pride. She of course had to focus on Kelvin so that she could give bim feedback on how to improve and grow as a dancer, but she couldn't stop herself from watching her sister too, and admiring the beautiful dances that she created week in, week out. Her choreography had improved so much from Let's Dance and Motsi considered it a pleasure to watch her transforming Kelvin into an incredible dancer. They scored 36 points, putting them second on the leaderboard, just behind Michelle and Giovanni. 

"Who do you think will be in the dance off?" Shirley asked Motsi, as they headed off the floor and backstage in the interval. 

"I sincerely hope it's not Catherine and Johannes, because Jorge literally adores Johannes and went crazy over their Charleston the other week," Motsi laughed. "Jorge's three favourite dances so far have been Kelvin's samba, Catherine's Charleston, and the red carpet dance we were all in last week." 

"I think everyone's favourite dance was Kelvin's week one samba. If he doesn't reprise it in the final, then I'll be bitterly disappointed and so will a nation of strictly viewers! So, Jorge is a Johannes fan then?" 

"Yes! So hopefully, Catherine and Johannes don't get voted out tonight. I think it might break his heart a little. Answering your original question - I think Mike might be in danger tonight, or Chris maybe." 

"I'd agree with that. I-" Shirley fell silent as she heard shouting coming from one of the rooms. Without a doubt, one of the people shouting was Bruno - it was made obvious by the Italian accent that it could only be Graziano, Giovanni or Bruno. And as they had just passed both Giovanni and Graziano in the corridors - Giovanni with Michelle and Graziano talking to Johannes - so it could only be Bruno. And seeing as it was Bruno's dressing room that the shouting was coming from... 

"Who's he-?" Motsi began, but was silenced by Shirley. 

"Yeah, well make the bloody most of it, because this is the last time that I'm coming to see this show this series!" 

"Jason," mouthed Motsi, and Shirley nodded her head as they neared the door. 

"What?! Why?" 

"Because I'm sick to death of this show! Nothing exciting ever ends up happening! Oh look, different people learn to dance different styles each week. Wow! And then at the end, someone gets eliminated, and it's usually an unfair elimination. I've seen it all and I'm bored to tears of coming here every week and feeling unwelcome!" 

"Unwelcome? What the fuck do you mean?" 

"Your co-judges aren't exactly thrilled at the idea of me being here, are they? I know for a fact that your little friend Craig doesn't want to be anywhere near me at the Halloween party next week-" 

"How do you know that?" Bruno tried to think of a time when he had discussed this with Craig when Jason had been around. The only time that he could think of was when they had talked about it via - "Have you been going through my phone?" 

"Why do you ask that? Got something to hide? Are you cheating on me?" Jason shouted angrily, and Craig came up behind them, having been to see Jonathan. 

"Do you honestly think I would cheat on you? Cheating is unforgivable! I'd never cheat on anyone, and if you honestly think I would-" 

"Then why are you so fussed about me using your phone? For your information, Tonioli, I didn't go through your phone. I just happened to see Craig's message pop up on your screen and read it as my name was mentioned. That's all." 

"Well, maybe the reason that my friends aren't thrilled at the idea of you being here is because you never make an effort with them?" Bruno retorted. "Let's think about it - you completely disrespected them all when you came to rehearsals, you never want to do anything with us like go and get pizza after the show, and you don't even show much of an interest in-" 

"This show? No, I bloody don't, because as I said before, I'm bored to tears of it!" 

"Well, if that's the attitude you're going to have, then how about you don't come again? And for your information Gardiner, if you didn't disrespect the show I've been doing for more than a decade, and didn't make Bruno feel like complete and utter shit on the dates you go on that can hardly be called dates, then maybe I might like you!" Craig flung the door open and shouted before either of the ladies could stop him. 

"Whatever. At least Dancing on Ice is more exciting-" 

"Oh, Holiday on Ice? You mean that ghastly show that got cancelled for four years and only recently got recommissioned?" Craig hit back. "Go in the audience, watch the results show, and then after this week... unless you're going to change your attitude and massively... then we don't want to see you. You don't get to come here, sit back and insult a show that means the world to so many people." 

"I was actually standing, not sitting, but whatever you say." 

With that, Jason cast a dirty look at everyone, but especially Craig, and stormed out to take his seat in the audience once again. 

"Bruno-" 

"Just leave me alone, please. I need to be alone." 

So Craig, Motsi and Shirley left the Italian to his own devices, all of them feeling angry that Jason had dared to disrespect them and the show the way that he just did. 

And as Craig made his way to his dressing room to get a drink and calm down after that confrontation with Jason, there was only one thought on his mind. 

Bruno deserves so much better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In TLG, Jason is literally my favourite character along with Craig and Jess (and Jonathan too) but in this story... nah... 
> 
> Predictions as to where this story is going, anyone? 
> 
> One day, I'll write a story where Jason and Craig don't hate each other at one point 😂
> 
> It's past 4am in my country and I just couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd give you this. I'm going to update again later hopefully, because this chapter is actually split into two. Next chapter - the elimination, some tension, and Joachim and Jorge's reaction to the Jonathan Ross show. 
> 
> I hope that you guys liked this chapter. Please let me know what you think honestly, feedback is always welcome. I must admit, I'm not entirely confident with this story at the moment... I do worry that it's a bit repetitive and that the whole thing with Jason and Bruno is unrealistic. I really do hope you're enjoying it though because I am enjoying writing it, despite a little bit of feeling unsure. ❤
> 
> See you in the next chapter. I'm off to 💤 now 😁


	22. i'll be there for you

"Oh, not this again!" Jorge rolled his eyes, as the clip of Craig realising that Anton wasn't wearing fake teeth was played. Following strictly, which they had enjoyed just as much as ever, Joachim and Jorge were currently sitting and watching the Jonathan Ross Show episode that Shirley, Motsi and Craig had filmed just a few days ago. 

"Poor guy is never going to live this down." 

"He really isn't. It's going to become the equivalent of the time that you shouted 'drei!' but held up a 4 paddle," Joachim replied, with a smile on his face as he saw just how mortified Craig truly was. He couldn't help but smile, it was just so hilarious. 

"Oh please, can you not remind me of that?" Jorge groaned, "it literally got made into a meme and people still come up to me in the streets and remind me of it." 

"I will remind you, because that night you literally provided me with one of my three favourite Let's Dance moments of all time," Joachim chuckled. 

"And what are the other two?" 

"Roman Frieling giving a ten to Thomas when I gave them a two, and Motsi literally almost shoving me off my chair when I gave Ulli Potofski a two after weeks of giving him a one for every dance. The thing is, Jorge... you know that I think you sometimes overmark the couples and get a bit carried away with the dances. But Roman - Roman's scoring was an absolute joke. I mean, I get we all have different opinions, but the fact he gave someone a ten when I gave them a two... something went wrong there." 

Jorge, who hadn't been a judge as long as Joachim and Motsi (Joachim had been there since day one, and Motsi had been a pro for a couple of seasons before she became a judge in the fourth season, but Jorge had only been recruited in 2013) asked, "and what did Motsi give again?" 

"Motsi gave a four, which is more understandable. Harald, who was also a judge at the time, gave a six," responded Joachim. "Admittedly, Roman got better in his second series but oh my goodness - giving a ten to that was shocking." 

Following the clip of what so many people now referred to as "teethgate" and Craig giving a few words on it, Motsi began to talk about her first series, and how she was finding it and how it compared to let's dance. And when the South African beauty mentioned their names, said how much she enjoyed working with them, Joachim and Jorge couldn't help but smile. 

Although neither Joachim nor Jorge had a clue who the other guests were, they greatly enjoyed the show, and as soon as it ended, Jorge sent Motsi a message in their group chat for her to read whenever she finished filming the results show. 

Jorge 🕺: the Jonathan Ross show was amazingggg Motsi!! So was the live show of strictly! Call us when you're home? 😘😘

To his surprise, Motsi replied almost instantaneously. 

Motsi 💃🏿: so glad you liked it !! There's been some drama behind the scenes with Jason and Bruno tonight, very eventful !! Absolutely- I'll call you when I'm home 😘😘

Jorge turned to Joachim as he read the notification and asked, "so, who do you think will be leaving strictly tonight? It had better not be Catherine and Johannes, because I think I might cry if they leave this early on." 

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but I think that it might be them, actually," Joachim said, turning the TV channel over to catch the news. "Their cha cha wasn't that great - and Dev got eliminated on a cha cha as well. And with them - I think that Chris could be in danger, and maybe that Mike guy as well." 

"I'm counting on Catherine and Johannes, Michelle and Giovanni and Kelvin and Oti to make it to musicals week, when we go and see Motsi," Jorge exclaimed, as he flopped back into the chair and ate the last of the pizza they had ordered in for dinner. "Those three are my favourites." 

Just over an hour later, the telephone rang, and both men picked up their phones quickly to find that it was Motsi calling at last. 

"Hello guys! Sorry it's a bit late, things were truly eventful backstage today," she said, looking rather flustered. 

"Before you tell us the story, I'd just like to say Motsi, that you actually got most of the scores on point tonight!" Joachim exclaimed, clapping his hands. "Well done!" 

"Oh, thank you so much, Joachim," Motsi said sarcastically, before bursting into giggles immediately afterwards. 

"Tell me, who's left?" Jorge begged, "I promise you I won't post any spoilers on social media or ring any magazines and have them leak the result." 

"I'm very sorry to have to tell you this, Jorge, but Catherine went home." 

"What?! NO! That's so unfair! Who was she against?" 

"Mike. And to be honest with you, I can see why Craig and Shirley saved him. But I think that you'll be pleased to know, Jorge, I saved them." 

"And this is why you are my favourite judge, Motshegetsi Mabuse. So, what happened backstage?" 

"Bruno and Jason had a massive row, Jason disrespected the show and said that he was bored to tears of coming to watch and then accused Bruno of infidelity, Craig shouted at Jason, and Bruno spent most of the night upset and not wanting to talk to anyone." 

"Wow, that's really rude," Joachim shook his head. "Good on Craig for standing up to him though!"

"From what I've seen over the past few weeks, Jason just isn't very likeable," Motsi said sadly. "I remember a few weeks ago, when we were rehearsing for the launch show - he came to watch rehearsals, and spent the entire time he was there, which was about five minutes in total, on his phone and took no notice of the judges group dance. He works away a lot, which, okay I understand. Sometimes work is unavoidable, and there is such thing as a long distance relationship. But he never really seems to be around, doesn't seem to put much effort in when he is here, and when he's home he often skips on commitments that mean a lot to Bruno and I'm not even getting into the date that Jason took Bruno on after the launch which wasn't a date." 

"He certainly sounds like a bit of an arsehole," Jorge said bluntly. "Poor Bruno." 

"He could do so much better than this guy, but you know what the saddest thing is? I can really tell how much Bruno loves him." 

"All couples argue - good heavens, my wife and I argued a few nights ago because I watched two episodes ahead on the show we're currently watching, and she called me thoughtless and said I didn't care about her feelings. But that sounds more toxic if you ask me," Joachim interjected. 

"It does. I hope that things get better between them soon," Motsi sighed. Though she had only known Bruno a few short weeks, she cared about him so much, and she really wanted him to just be happy. 

.. 

"Look, Bruno, I don't want to be difficult, but I really don't like him. The way he acts towards you is just wrong and you shouldn't have to put up with it." 

"Craig, it was one argument... maybe I'm overreacting," Bruno sighed, sinking back into the sofa, exhausted. The Italian had come home with Craig and Jonathan that night, not wanting to go back to his home whilst Jason was still there. Space was what they needed tonight - space to think about what had happened and work out what to do about their relationship. "And maybe me being defensive about my phone does look like I'm..." 

"No, it doesn't. I mean, I've got nothing to hide and I'll quite happily let Jonathan go through my phone if he asks, but I'd rather he asked me first. Being open and honest is important, but it's also important to allow each other space in a relationship. Privacy is important, you know?" 

Craig had never had anything to hide. He considered cheating the lowest of the low, the most unforgivable thing you could do to somebody you loved. He had been cheated on twice by previous romantic partners, and knowing how horrible he felt when he had it done to him and knowing what psychological damage it caused, he would never dream of doing it to somebody else. But at the same time, he still believed that space and privacy was of great importance in a romantic relationship. He remembered a time when he had been worried that a previous partner was cheating on him, and so had waited until they went for a shower before going onto his phone, which was not password protected. He had found nothing to show that he was cheating, and had felt like a jerk for not trusting his partner. The relationship had, admittedly, fallen apart two years later - but it had been because they had just drifted apart from each other and didn't love each other the way they once used to. It had nothing to do with fidelity. 

"Look, I'm not saying you need to break up with him, and even though I don't like him you know I would support you if you stayed with him in the long term... but I just think that what he did tonight was wrong. He insulted you and the show that you love so much, and accused you of doing something I know you would never do.." 

Craig handed Bruno a mug of tea and he took it with both hands, beginning to sip the hot liquid. 

"It's just so difficult... because I love him, but the way he acts sometimes does really hurt me.." Bruno admitted. "When it's good, it's amazing, but when it's bad... then it's the worst."

"I can't make decisions for you, Bruno. I can't force you into doing anything," Craig said, looking his Italian friend deep in the eyes and eating the final piece of pepperoni pizza. They had fancied pizza, but after the emotional rollercoaster that was that evening, Bruno hadn't wanted to go and sit in the pizzeria. They had decided in the end to order it as a takeaway, and eat it at Craig and Jonathan home. "You need to think about what you want... what's best for you. I think you should definitely stay here tonight and then take action tomorrow - go and talk to him, that is. But whatever you choose... just know one thing. I'll be there for you." 

Bruno smiled, albeit a little guiltily. He remembered how he hadn't exactly liked one of Craig's exes - he had thought him way too cocky and just... wrong for Craig in all aspects. But unlike Craig right now, he had been very vocal about his dislike for said ex, had sometimes been a bit too harsh, and it had caused some tension between him and the Australian. Craig being understanding and agreeing to accept the relationship, even if he didn't like it, was so Craig and Bruno really appreciated it. 

"Thank you so much, Craig. I really appreciate you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second update in less than 24 hours ;) 
> 
> More drama lies ahead... but that's all I'm saying on the matter for now. 
> 
> Jorge in this is literally me. Catherine and Johannes leaving was so sad - I definitely think she should have made it further although I won't lie, Mike did do better in that dance off - and the speech Johannes made where he said "thank you for accepting me for who I am" makes me cry every time I watch it 😢
> 
> The next chapter should be next week sometime. Probably midweek because I'm busy next weekend, but we shall see. 
> 
> Hope you're enjoying this story - thank you for the amazing support on this so far - and I'll see you in the next chapter 💕


	23. pride of britain

The Pride of Britain awards was an event that the strictly family attended pretty much every year, whether that be to actually present an award or just to watch. It was a night guaranteed to leave everyone in tears, and after hearing about it through Oti, Motsi was really excited to attend the ceremony herself this year. 

Because of being in Los Angeles, Bruno wouldn't be attending, but Motsi would have Craig, Jonathan and Shirley and of course her sister to go with. Although it was the day before her surgery, Shirley was allowed to come along, but she had been given strict instructions to not drink any alcohol, and after midnight, to not drink anything at all. Darcey would be coming as well, with her husband Angus, but for obvious reasons she would not be joining their little group. Motsi hoped, however, that she would be able to go and see her at some point during the event, just to say hello. 

She was currently putting on her dress - a long and floaty pink number that she had had in the back of her wardrobe for years but had never worn. Her make up was already done, and she had had the incentive to put on waterproof mascara because she knew that some of the stories tonight were going to make her cry. Both Craig and Shirley, who attended the previous year, had told her that they had cried - some of the stories were just so emotional and inspiring. 

After sending a photo of the finished look to Joachim and Jorge, and receiving a "you look beautiful, Motsi!" from Joachim and a "looking gorgeous chicaaaaa" from Jorge, Motsi waited for Shirley and Craig to arrive and collect her. Craig had very kindly offered to act as chauffeur once again, and Motsi thought that she would never be able to repay him for all the times that he had driven her places. 

She wondered how many others from the strictly cast she would see there. They were all in a massive group chat with absolutely everyone involved in strictly, from Vicky Gill to Alan Dedicoat, and from what she could see, Dianne and a few other female pros were going. Oti was definitely going, and Motsi was looking forward to spending some time with her sister - with the exception of a few moments backstage at strictly, and Marius's birthday party, the sisters hadn't really spent any time together, because obviously Oti spent twelve hours a day in training with Kelvin. Joe Sugg, Dianne's youtuber boyfriend whom she had fallen in love with last series, would be there with Dianne as her plus-one, and Tess and Claudia were going together as a duo. 

As she checked the WhatsApp group chat, from which she had 120 unread messages (most of which consisted of discussions about what people would be wearing, and one very random discussion about Americano the sloth that had no context whatsoever), Craig's car pulled up outside. Shirley was already in the car, with a woman sat beside her whom Motsi was sure was her mum Audrey, and Craig and Jonathan were in the front seats. Taking one last look at herself, Motsi headed out to the car. 

"Hi Motsi! Motsi, this is my mum Audrey," Shirley explained, as Motsi climbed into the back seat. "Mum, this is Motsi Mabuse, the new judge." 

"Oh I know who Motsi is! Lovely to meet you, Motsi. You're doing a great job on strictly, you're a natural at being a judge," Audrey said warmly, as they began to drive to the place where the Pride of Britain awards took place. 

"Well thank you!" Motsi smiled, "and it's lovely to meet you too." Turning to Shirley she asked, "is Danny not coming tonight?" 

"No, he's performing tonight," Shirley responded. Recently, Danny had been working on a production of Blood Brothers. Shirley had already been to see him twice, and was so proud of his moving and word perfect performance both times. Acting was how she had met him - if Craig hadn't persuaded her to give pantomime a try, would she ever have met him? - and seeing him do what he really loved to do meant the world to her. 

"I'll definitely have to come and see him in Blood Brothers. And I'll make sure to come and see both you and Craig in pantomime," Motsi smiled. Panto was something she had never really been exposed to when she was young, and so this year, now she was in Britain, she really wanted a taste of it and to make up for that. 

"I'd love to see you there," Shirley smiled at her, and Motsi squeezed her hand as they turned the corner. 

.. 

"I'm going to go and find Oti," Motsi decided, as soon as they were inside the venue and had had numerous shots of them taken by the paparazzi. "If you don't mind?" 

"Of course we don't mind, you go ahead," Craig nodded at her, and Motsi set off, having seen Dianne, Joe, Oti and Kelvin standing together, talking. 

"Oh, hi, sis!" Oti smiled, as she saw Motsi approaching. "How are you?" 

"I'm great! Just sitting over there with Craig, Jonathan and Shirley and her mum," Motsi replied with a smile. "How are you?" 

"I'm great! Had a long day training with Kelvin - we woke up an hour early because we had to finish early today for this - so I'm tired, but other than that I'm good!" Oti said, smiling at Kelvin. "Our Viennese waltz is going really well, and I'm really happy with how.. oh wait, I shouldn't really be talking about it, because you might be 'biased' towards me.." 

"Those rumours were absolutely ridiculous. I think you mark very fairly, Motsi.. and don't tell the others, but you're definitely my favourite judge!" 

"Well, thank you, Kelvin!" Motsi laughed, suddenly waving as she saw a tall figure in a long red dress walk towards her with her husband. Darcey. 

"Wait, is that Darcey?" Oti asked, narrowing her eyes. 

"It is!" Motsi smiled, as the extremely glamorous woman appeared at their sides. "Hey, Darcey! How are you?" 

"I'm all right, thank you!" Darcey grinned back. "Motsi, this is my husband, Angus. Angus... this is my friend, Motsi." 

"Pleasure to meet you, Motsi," Angus shook her hand. "Looking forward to the show?" 

"Absolutely!" Motsi nodded, "although I know I'm going to cry!" 

"Oh don't worry, I cry every single year, especially when it's about kids," Darcey said with a laugh. "It's a very emotional night, but also so inspiring." 

"Motsi, are you...?" Shirley came over, her smile suddenly fading as she realised that Darcey was there. "Oh... I didn't know you were coming." 

"I come every year, Shirley," Darcey replied. 

"And why exactly are you hanging out with people from the very show you couldn't bear to talk about?" Shirley snapped. 

Darcey didn't have the energy to respond. She had come here for a good night, and she didn't want it to be ruined by her former friend (much as it pained her to say that) refusing to believe her word when she explained what happened that September day. So, instead, she just responded, "I hope your operation goes well tomorrow." 

"What?!" Shirley was taken aback. 

"I hope your surgery goes well tomorrow. You know, the breast surgery. I hope it all goes well for you." 

"How do you even know about that?" 

"I still follow you on Instagram, Shirley. And Daniel. I heard about how you're having surgery to remove your implants tomorrow.." Darcey said that in a hushed voice, so that Shirley's business wouldn't be broadcast to everyone, "and... and I really hope it goes well for you and that you get good news." 

Shirley wanted to snap back, but somehow seeing Darcey in front of her being so nice made her back down. However, not wanting to forgive her completely yet, she just said "thanks Darcey" and walked back to her table to rejoin her mum, Craig and Jonathan. 

"What exactly is going on between you guys..?" Dianne asked. 

"I didn't want to talk about strictly during an interview, the media fabricated the story, and Bruno and Shirley believe the article and not me," said Darcey, all in one breath. "According to the article, I phoned up Piers after the interview and told him I couldn't care less about the show and its ratings, which really isn't true." 

"They actually believe that? Well, I'm sorry, but it's clear that's not you," Joe replied rather fiercely. 

"Exactly," Dianne agreed, taking a sip of her drink. "They'll come around, don't you worry. The fact they actually believe that.. it beats me." 

"I hope they do," Darcey said a little wistfully, as she watched Shirley laughing with Craig and Jonathan over something. "But at the moment.. I doubt it." 

.. 

Motsi was glad that she had had the sense to wear waterproof mascara - some of the stories were just so inspirational that she found herself crying. Jonathan, Audrey and Shirley all cried too, and even Craig, who didn't cry easily, found himself in tears. The judges had to present an award themselves, and upon hearing about the wonderful work a speech therapist named Margaret had done to change the lives of so many people out there, Motsi could barely talk she felt so emotional. From a story about a once homeless boy who turned his life around, to a young girl who saved her family from being poisoned by carbon monoxide, every single story was incredibly inspiring and Motsi and the others agreed that they all definitely deserved to win. 

"That was truly amazing," Motsi breathed, as they headed back to the car at the end of the night, having said goodnight to Oti and the others. She hadn't yet found Darcey, but she knew that Darcey had stayed the whole show, having looked over and seen her wiping tears from her eyes several times throughout the ceremony. "You were right... it was a very inspiring evening." 

"That seven year old girl got me. So young but yet so mature and so brave," Craig said, arm in arm with Jonathan. 

"I'm so glad that I came along. Thanks for an amazing evening, guys," Motsi thanked her friends as they all piled back into the car. 

"No need to thank us. We're just glad you could come along," Craig smiled in the rear view mirror as they began to drive, "and I'm really looking forward to the Jonathan Ross party later on this week as well." 

"I so wish I was coming to that," sighed Shirley, "we had so much fun last year, Craig! But doctors orders..." 

"I would say how important it is to follow doctors orders and how you should always follow exactly what they say... but seeing as I literally did a series of chaine turns onto the dance floor as the Phantom less than a month after my hip surgery and almost made my surgeon die of a shock induced heart attack, I don't think I can say anything," Craig laughed, remembering how worried everyone had been when he had done that. 

"Did you actually?" Motsi laughed.

"I definitely did! My surgeon was so cross with me, telling me that I could have so easily knocked out the replacement hip and caused some serious damage.. but it just gave me such a thrill. But seriously, Shirley, don't do what I did, darling. Just rest up, do what the doctors tell you, and you'll be dancing again as Mother Nature by Christmas." 

Shirley smiled as she thought of doing panto with Danny in just over a month. They were doing the exact same panto as last year - Jack and the Beanstalk with Shirley as Mother Nature and Danny as Fleshcreep - and she was greatly looking forward to it. She longed to be back on form for then, so even though just resting and doing no dancing or strenuous activity for the next few weeks was going to be torture, she was determined to get through it. 

Pulling up outside Shirley's house a short while later, Motsi reached over and hugged her tightly. 

"You're going to be absolutely fine, okay..?" she reassured her friend. "I promise you, you'll be fine. Those doctors know exactly what they're doing, and you're going to be in the best hands. Keep me updated on everything, yeah? I'll even come and visit you if you would like that." 

"Of course I will, and I think I'd love that. Thank you so much for your support, Motsi," Shirley smiled, as she hugged both Craig and Jonathan goodbye. 

"You're going to be fine, darling, I promise. Take it from me," the Australian in the front of the car also tried to reassure Shirley. 

Shirley was very grateful for all the words from the colleagues that she considered her greatest friends. She felt so incredibly lucky to have such amazing people in her life. 

And as she walked up the path to the front door, her mum following her, she felt the tiniest bit more confident about the surgery that she was to have tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for a lack of updates on this story! I've been back at college, and therefore been trying to get back into a routine. I'm going to try and update more on this story and on my other ones too, but please bear with me because this year for me is not only going to be one of the most important years so far, but also one of the most exhausting... 
> 
> Hope you guys are all keeping well! 
> 
> I really hope you enjoyed this chapter too after the wait! 😍
> 
> I'll see you guys in the next chapter because I must sleep now, but thank you so so much for reading, and stay safe, stay tuned and stay happy! Love you all so much 😍


	24. promises

Waiting for news on whether Shirley's operation had been successful or not the next day was awful. In such a short time, Motsi had become really close with Shirley, even if she disagreed with the way that the older woman treated Darcey, and she couldn't help but worry about her friend. Danny, who was spending his day off at the surgery waiting for his girlfriend, had promised to text Motsi as soon as he heard news, knowing that Shirley probably wouldn't be up to texting immediately after she came out of theatre. But time today seemed to be lasting forever. Every time Motsi looked at the clock, it appeared to read the exact same time as it had what felt like hours ago. 

To try and distract her from the worry she felt, Joachim and Jorge facetimed Motsi and they had a movie session together, but the south African beauty still found herself checking her phone every few moments. 

"She'll be fine, Motsi," Joachim reassured his friend, after she had checked her phone for about the twentieth time. "Doctors are very clever people. They know exactly what they're doing." 

"I know," Motsi sighed, tossing her phone aside. "That's exactly what I told Shirley just last night. But that doesn't stop me from worrying about her..." 

She tried to focus on the movie, a lighthearted comedy that Joachim had been wanting to watch since its release a few months ago, but she simply couldn't give her entire attention to it. All she wanted was to hear the sound of her phone beep, receive a text or a phone call just to say that everything had gone well. 

Her phone beeped a second later and she snatched it up faster than she ever had before to read the notification, but was disappointed to see that it was actually a text from the strictly group chat. The strictly group chat generally came alive in the evenings once everybody had finished training, but now and again throughout the day someone would message in it, and right now it was Karim who had messaged. He was sending a video of him falling over during the quickstep, which Motsi couldn't help but laugh at even though a message from Danny was all she wanted to see right now. 

Go go go Joseph: reminds me of when I fell over during the showdance on tour last year 😂😂

Motsi broke into giggles, remembering that video - Oti had sent it to her though she hadn't been physically on the tour due to filming the greatest dancer and she had found it hilarious. 

"What are you laughing at..?" Jorge asked. 

"Oh, just a video in the strictly group chat," replied Motsi, turning her attention back to the film. "I thought it was Danny, but obviously not." 

At that moment, the phone began to ring, and Motsi breathed a massive sigh of relief to see it was Danny calling. Quickly smiling at Jorge and Joachim, she rushed outside to take the call, keeping her fingers crossed that the news was good. 

"Is she okay..?" Motsi blurted out, before even saying hello. 

"She's absolutely fine, and they didn't find anything to worry about. She's the strongest woman I know," Danny replied, with a fond smile on his face. "She's already awake and making jokes.. though she is still really sleepy."

"I can imagine," Motsi couldn't hide her smile at the good news. "I'm so glad she's okay! I've been really worried." 

"Me too. Going back to doing Blood Brothers tomorrow isn't what I want to do, whilst she's recovering but I just can't let the audiences down," Danny sighed. "I'm lucky that today was my day off." 

"That was fortunate! So she's really okay?" 

"Definitely! Though I had every belief that she would be okay. She'll be in hospital overnight and then hopefully she'll be discharged tomorrow... in time for Saturday." 

"Oh, this is just brilliant news! Let me know when she's home, and if she's up to some visitors then I'll come over and do anything that needs doing," Motsi suggested, wanting to do whatever she could to help her friend during her recovery. 

"I will do. Audrey's coming to stay at her house to look after her, so she won't be alone, but I think she'd definitely love to see you. Thank you so much for being such an amazing friend to her, Motsi. I'm so glad she's got people like you and Bruno and Craig in her life looking out for her." 

"You don't need to thank us, we love her so much," Motsi replied, a smile on her face. "Thank you so much for keeping us updated." 

"You're welcome, I'm going to go back to her now but I'll continue to keep you updated on everything," Danny told her. "Thank you again, Motsi." 

"You're welcome. Speak soon, Danny." 

"Speak soon. Bye, Motsi." 

Motsi hung up and went dashing back into the lounge, where Joachim and Jorge were still on FaceTime, the movie paused. 

"I'm guessing by the smile on your face, chica, that it's good news," Jorge laughed. 

"It is! She's absolutely fine, and Danny's with her," Motsi said, resisting the urge to dance around the living room, although it would have been acceptable seeing as she was only in the virtual company of her two best friends. "All is well!" 

"See what we told you..? I'm so glad to hear Shirley's all right," Joachim grinned. "I was sure she would be. But now that we know she's fine, can we please continue with the movie..? We've just got to the funniest part..." 

"All right, patience, Llambi!" Jorge laughed, pressing Play on the movie again. "I'm just off to make some more popcorn." 

And as the movie began again, Motsi settled back into her chair with a smile on her face, relieved that all was well. 

... 

"Jonno, have you read the latest Dancing on Ice news?" Craig asked, as he and his boyfriend lay in bed later that night after a wonderful day out together. They had spent the day at Kew Gardens, where Jonathan had trained to be a horticulturalist, and now they were in bed, Jonathan reading a book about gardening, Craig scrolling through his social media. He wasn't exactly one to spend a lot of time on social media, but every now and again he liked to go onto Instagram and Twitter, like a few posts and maybe post something of his own for the fans. 

"Craigy, we've not been on our phones since this morning... so no," Jonathan laughed, not looking up from his book. "Also, why are you so interested in Dancing on Ice all of a sudden? I thought you said there was no way you were watching that ridiculous Holiday On Ice because it was tainted by Jason Gardiner...?" 

"Oh, I did say that, but I have a strong feeling we'll be watching it after you hear this news," Craig chuckled. "It's been confirmed that this year they've got the first ever same sex partnership on the show.. remember we were talking about it the other week in the Star Bar... and guess who will be the celebrity in that partnership..?" 

"Oh, come on, Craigy, that could apply to anybody!" Jonathan rolled his eyes. 

"I'll give you three clues as to who it is. He's a singer... he's from a band you really like... and his surname is Watkins." 

It took a moment for it to dawn on Jonathan, then he gasped. "H from Steps is doing Dancing On Ice?! Well then, we are definitely watching it!" 

"I knew that would be your reaction," Craig laughed, "and I suppose we can watch it, seeing as that man won't be on the show this year and John Barrowman will." He was still angry at Jason for what happened backstage not long ago, the way he had insulted the show and everybody on it and hurt Bruno so much. "Apparently he's going to be dancing with somebody called Matt, who's been on the show since it started." 

"Well, it's great to see them finally introducing same sex partnerships! It should have been done long ago, if you ask me, but it's great they're finally doing it," Jonathan said, a huge smile on his face. "I mean, look how well it worked with Courtney and Joshua on Dancing with the Stars earlier this year!" 

"Oh, Courtney was fabulous. I still think he should have won, but I knew that he wouldn't because he was fabulous from day one, and also because Samuel's chosen charity touched the heart more, I think," Craig replied. 

On Dancing with the Stars Australia, one aspect that was different to strictly was that each contestant was dancing for a different charity that was close to their heart. In the final, which had consisted of Constance Hall, Samuel Johnson and Courtney Act, all three had been dancing for charities that did remarkable work. Constance, who eventually came third due to being the weakest dancer in the final, was dancing for Rafiki Mwema, an Australian charity based in Kenya, attempting to support children who had been exposed to any form of abuse whilst growing up. Courtney had danced for Black Rainbow, an LGBTQ suicide prevention campaign, but Samuel had been dancing for a charity that he himself created - Love Your Sister, an organisation dedicated to helping and supporting those living with cancer. He had set it up along with his sister Connie Johnson, who had died at the tragically young age of 40 from breast cancer, and a lot of people had wanted him to win the money for that cause. 

"I hope that at some point in the competition, H gets scored 5,6,7,8," Jonathan chuckled, as he put his book down, too excited to read. 

Craig laughed. "Okay, Jonno, that was actually quite funny." 

..

"Right, I'm going out," Jason snapped the next afternoon, standing up from the sofa and pulling on his coat. "I've never been so bored in all my life." 

Bruno looked up from his book, feeling rather hurt by Jason's words. They had spent the whole day together yesterday, after Bruno got back from Los Angeles, and had actually had a wonderful time. They had gone out for dinner, followed by a movie, and then had gone for a couple of drinks together at a bar. It had been like it had been in the very early days of their relationship and Jason had even taken care not to get too drunk like he had done that time at Reno's. Bruno had gone to bed that night feeling so loved and cared about, and as he lay cuddled up to Jason in bed in the early hours, he had made a wish that this feeling would last forever. 

Fast forward not even ten hours, and it was obvious that his wish wouldn't come true. 

"Will you be back in time for the party..?" he asked, thinking about how they had to leave the house at 6 to be there on time for the party at Jonathan Ross's home starting. 

"Yes, I'll be back in time," Jason snapped, zipping up his coat and grabbing his car keys, "seeing as it means that much to you. As long as you don't make me spend any time with your friends, seeing as they hate me so much."

Bruno, ignoring Jason's attempt to victimise hinself, said in an uncharacteristically shy tone. "I was just checking.. because of that time when you were four hours late for our date night.." 

"Yeah, because in case you hadn't fucking realised, I hate bowling and everything about it. So of course I had to come late, to give the alleys time to shut," Jason snapped, and Bruno knew that it had been too good to be true last night. "But don't worry, I'll be back in time for the party. I'm just off for lunch and a drink with Reno." 

"You won't... you won't get really drunk with him, will you..?" Bruno asked, stuttering a little. He knew that, when Jason went out with his friends, he had a tendency to drink a lot of alcohol and come home drunk. Although they were both definitely going to get drunk tonight, and enjoy themselves at the party, Bruno just hoped that he wouldn't get so drunk now that he wouldn't be able to come tonight and behave himself.

"Although it's none of your business what I do, I promise you I won't get really drunk with him," Jason said curtly, opening the door. "Right, I'll see you either back here at the house, or I'll meet you at the party. Either way, I'll be there." 

And without an I love you or a goodbye, Jason left the house, driving away. 

Bruno was left sitting on the sofa, wondering what had bought that on and wondering whether or not Jason Gardiner was really worth it. The good times were really fucking good... last night had been the most amazing night. Jason had been so caring and had acted like the perfect boyfriend that Bruno had always dreamed of. But the bad times were the worst... and when Jason stormed out of the house, favouring drinking and going to bars with his friends over spending time with the man who was supposed to be his partner, it made Bruno feel as though he wasn't good enough. 

That was the thing with Jason. He could make Bruno feel like a king one minute, so loved and so appreciated. Then the next minute, he could bring it all crashing down and make him feel like he wasn't being a good enough boyfriend. One day, they could have so much fun together and really enjoy one another's company, and the next day Bruno could be left feeling like a boring person to spend time with. He was constantly having mixed feelings and, whilst he knew that none of his friends liked Jason or liked him being with Jason... he couldn't bear the thought of leaving him. Every time he did wonder about leaving him, or whether they were truly meant to be, reminders of all the loving things that Jason had done for him came flooding back into his mind, and he couldn't bear the thought of losing him. It was just that, at the moment, there were more bad times than good. He just had to hope that the good times would soon begin to outweigh the bad. 

Mi amor 🧘♂️❤: I'll meet you at the party 

Bruno sighed - he had expected that response. In fact, after everything that had just happened, he didn't know whether to expect him to turn up at all. He had promised he would be there, but if there was one thing he had learned about Jason, it was that his promises often didn't mean anything. He had promised that one week he would come to Los Angeles with Bruno and spend time with him.. it was halfway through the series and he had shown no interest, saying he was too busy. He had promised to spend more time with Bruno when he was in the UK... but more often than not he favoured spending time with friends. So just because he had promised to meet him at the party and that he wouldn't turn up drunk, didn't mean that he actually would meet him there and that he wouldn't walk in drunk. 

Texting back an "okay", a jet lagged Bruno sighed and threw himself back into the armchair. Staring at the ceiling, drifting off into sleep slowly, he wondered whether things would get better, and if for once, tonight, Jason would keep his promises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think...?
> 
> I've finally updated guys! Sorry about the slow updates on this story. Been settling back into college life and also writing this little girl and locker rollercoasters at the same time. If you've not read those stories, please go check them out! 
> 
> Jason really is a horrible character in this story. He's the complete opposite to his character in TLG, who is possibly one of my favourite characters ever to appear in one of my stories 😂
> 
> Drama is coming soon, so stay tuned. 
> 
> The next chapter shouldn't take too long, it's already partly written! 
> 
> Thank you so much for over 500 reads on this story, it truly does mean the world to me to see you are all enjoying this story! I love and appreciate you all ❤
> 
> Stay safe, stay happy and stay tuned!


	25. what i've heard about you

"Come on, doggies!" Craig cried, as he got out of the car dressed as one of Disney's most hated villains. "Come on, this way!" 

Darcey, Motsi and Jonathan couldn't stop giggling as they followed Craig, who was wearing six inch heels and was even taller than he usually was, through the entrance, being snapped by paparazzi every two seconds. They had all gotten ready together at Craig and Jonathan's Hampshire mansion, and were really happy with how their costumes had turned out. Craig had done all their make up - Motsi had been slightly unsure about letting him do it at first, but had soon come to see that the Australian had quite the talent for applying make up. 

"When I was playing Hannigan, I did my own make up every single night," Craig told Motsi, when she looked frankly surprised at how good his make up skills were. 

Now they were heading into Jonathan Ross's home - Darcey and Jonathan dressed as Dalmatians, Motsi as a devil, and Craig as Cruella De Vil herself. All around them were celebrities dressed in all kinds of outfits, from the Addams family to zombies to pirates. Craig, who had attended last year with Shirley and Jonathan, marvelled at how much bigger the turnout this year was. Every year, Jonathan Ross's party became more and more popular, and more and more people got put on the guest list. 

"And here we have a rather unglamorous entrance at the end of it all," Jonathan remarked, as they finally got out of the sight of the paparazzi. 

"This way!" Craig laughed, Jonathan and Darcey basically attached to him via chains like real dogs. "This way, doggies! And devil." 

Motsi laughed. She was already so excited for the party, and it hadn't even begun properly yet. She had heard so much about it and couldn't wait to spend the whole night with three people she was so close with, even if two of her best friends were missing this evening. She had hoped that maybe Oti might come, so that they could spend some time together, but she was instead celebrating with Marius, Joe, Dianne, Kelvin, Janette and a few other members of the strictly cast. 

"Is Bruno still coming..?" Darcey questioned, privately. 

"Yep, he and Jason are coming together. But they won't be hanging out with us because Jason has already said that he doesn't want to spend time with us. Apparently, we treat him 'badly' and 'don't make him feel welcome'," Craig rolled his eyes. "I think he's very conveniently forgotten that not a week ago, he said that he was bored to tears watching strictly." 

"He doesn't seem very nice at all," Darcey shook her head, and Craig was surprised to hear her saying that. Although it was what he thought, Darcey very rarely said negative things about other people. Even one of her exes, who treated her like dirt constantly (even worse than Jason treated Bruno at his worst), had not had a bad word said against him by her. She always tried to see the good in everybody, no matter how badly they treated her, and believed that very few people were bad. It was a quality she possessed that Craig admired greatly, and he wished he had the same talent for it as his friend.

"I certainly didn't appreciate his attitude the other day," Motsi added in. "I've only been working at strictly for a couple months, but it's literally the best show on English TV-" 

"Not biased at all, Mabuse darling." 

"And I think the fact Jason was insulting a job that Bruno has so much passion for was awful," Motsi couldn't help but laugh at Craig's statement. 

"As I've said before, I just don't think that Jason's good enough for Bruno, but I think Bruno needs to be given the time to realise that for himself and make his own choices," Craig remarked, smiling as he was handed a drink. "Oooh, Savvy B. My favourite." 

Craig ended up having several glasses of his favourite alcoholic beverage that night, not worried about getting drunk seeing as he had nothing to do the next day. Motsi and Jonathan also had quite a few alcoholic drinks, but Darcey refused the alcohol, instead just sticking with fizzy water. 

"I don't really drink alcohol," she explained to Motsi, who looked rather surprised at the fact that she wasn't drinking. "I was put off by an awful experience when I was younger. I got really drunk on strawberry daiquiris on my 24th birthday... and believe me, it wasn't a pretty scene. I might have the odd glass of red wine, but that's it. Plus, I need to stay sober tonight... you need someone sober to drive you home!" 

She might not have had any alcohol in her system, but Darcey was as light hearted and free as the others that night, enjoying herself more than she had done in weeks. She spent most of the night on the dance floor, taking it in turns to dance with Motsi, Jonathan and Craig. Though Jonathan always swore he couldn't dance, he was actually pretty good, and Darcey joked, "you've been on TV with Craig, haven't you? You should do strictly next year!" 

"Good heavens, are you joking? I'd be voted out in the first week!" Jonathan laughed, as Darcey spun him around. "Plus, Craig would probably get a barrage of abuse, seeing as he and I are in a relationship." 

"Trust me, Jonno, I wouldn't give you high scores just because we're dating," Craig replied. "You would get the exact same treatment any other celebrity gets. If you were shit, I'd give you a shit score." 

"I think I'd actually be quite scared of getting judged by you." 

"And so you should be!" Craig winked, before bursting into giggles. "Also, Jonno? I know that our Darcey is a stunning woman and an incredible dancer, but would you mind dancing with me for a bit? I feel a little left out.." 

"Of course!" Jonathan laughed, before thanking Darcey for the dance and beginning to dance a ballroom dance with the love of his life. 

"I aspire to one day find a relationship like yours," Motsi said a little wistfully. 

"I'm sure you will, Motsi! It took me 54 years, but I finally found the love of my life, who I hope I'll one day marry," Craig cheered suddenly as one of ABBA's most famous hits came on. "You'll find that person for you too.. and maybe even sooner than you think." 

"I'm not sure it'll be any time soon, but thank you, Craig!" 

As Darcey danced the night away with her best friends, she caught sight of Bruno a few times, sitting alone in a corner looking very sad and not talking to anyone, and felt deeply sorry for him. She hadn't actually met Jason yet, but from what she had heard through Motsi, Craig and Jonathan, he didn't seem to always treat Bruno right. She wanted more than anything to go and see her old friend, keep him company, but she knew that she was the last person he would want to see. The Italian still strongly believed that Darcey hated strictly and wanted to wipe it out of her life... and she didn't see that changing any time soon. Bruno was a very obstinate creature, and didn't change his mind easily. She knew that all too well. 

Suddenly, as she and Motsi danced together, Darcey saw a man, wobbling rather precariously, heading towards Bruno. Jason. It was obvious that he had only just arrived on the scene, and Darcey had two questions floating around her head. 

Why is he two hours late, and why is he already drunk? 

"I thought... I thought you weren't going to get really drunk," Bruno was saying to Jason as he dragged him outside to talk in private, and Darcey pulled Motsi in their direction so that they could hear the conversation better. 

The Italian was feeling extremely betrayed once again. Another broken promise, by the man that he was meant to be in love with. 

"Well, you have no control over me!" Jason said in an overly loud voice, swaying on the spot. "You might be fifteen years older than me, Bruno Tonioli, but that doesn't mean you can dictate my life. You're not my father." 

"No, but I am your lover, and I have feelings." 

"Oh, don't be so fucking pathetic!" By now, there were several people looking at them, but Jason didn't care as he tried to think of the best words to hurt Bruno. "And for your information, I didn't even want to attend this stupid party! I only did because you practically begged me to come. I could have been at a party with my actual friends.." 

"Well then, why don't you fucking go and leave Bruno alone..?" 

Bruno practically did his annual traditional of falling off his chair as he realised who it was talking. There, in front of him, dressed as a dalmatian and looking angrier than she had ever looked before, was Darcey Bussell. 

"Oh, Darcey Bussell's the name, isn't it?" Jason sneered. "I don't think I'm the one that should be leaving him alone.. aren't you the one who tried to cut him out your life like he never even existed?" 

"Actually, no," Darcey snapped, stunning Motsi. "I don't know why he thinks that I would want to do that, but trust me, I'd never want to." 

"He thinks that because that's the fucking truth!" Jason blazed. "Don't you know what you did to him? You made him cry, made him feel as though he meant nothing to you! And you have the audacity to tell me to leave him alone..? No, I think you should do that yourself, you little..." 

"Okay, fine, maybe it came across that way. And I'm so fucking sorry it did! Strictly gave me the best seven years of my life and some of the best memories, and I would never want to forget those years. I don't know why it went from me simply saying that I didn't want to talk about it in one interview to me wanting to cut the entire show out of my life.. but what I do know is that the way you treat Bruno is disgusting." 

"And who are you to talk about my relationship..? You know nothing about us! This is the first time you've met me.. so don't you dare judge me!" 

"That's rich coming from you.. you literally think the worst of me and you've also never met me before tonight. And I don't need to have met you to know stuff. I've heard about some of the things you've done to Bruno... the way you've taken him on dates that just ended up being you playing video games with your friend, and how you don't make time for him. And what I've just seen confirms what I've heard about you is right. You've turned up two hours late, leaving him sat alone all evening, and you did the one thing he asked you not to do, which was turn up drunk out your mind. And then, not only that, you've just insulted him and said you didn't even want to come because you'd rather hang out with your friends.. if that's how you feel, then why don't you fucking go?! You won't be missed at this party, I promise you." 

Jason stared at the woman for a moment, speechless, before giving all of them dirty looks and storming off. 

Bruno didn't quite know what to say. He wanted to shout at Darcey, give her what for after making his boyfriend leave so soon... but he couldn't find it in his heart to do that. Much as he wanted to stand up for his boyfriend, Bruno knew that Darcey was right in what she had said, and suddenly felt gratitude towards her for standing up for him like that. 

"You.. you didn't have to do that." 

"I know I didn't... but I wanted to," Darcey responded, the anger she had felt dissipating at long last. It was rare that she got that angry.. nothing usually made her feel like that. Shouting wasn't something she did often; she had only shouted at her daughters once in their lives and it was something neither Phoebe nor Zoe wanted to happen again. "Think of it as repayment for the time that you shouted at the paparazzi on my behalf." 

"That was a moment and a half, wasn't it?" Bruno chuckled. "Not my finest moment, but I'm proud I had the courage to stand up for my friend." 

With that he stood up. "I'm.. I'm probably going to go home now." 

"Are you sure..? You're more than welcome to stay with us," Motsi told him. "We could even give you a lift home if you'd like.." 

"No, it's fine. I'm still jet lagged anyway. I'll see you guys on Saturday, yeah?" Bruno shook his head, and walked away, shooting them a little smile. 

"I'm so proud of you, Darce," Craig stepped out from the shadows, where he had overheard the entire conversation. "You said everything perfectly." 

"Yeah, I would have hated to be on the receiving end of that!" Motsi slipped her arm round her friend. "I hope that he learns from that." 

"I doubt he will," Craig replied bluntly, "but I hope that he does for Bruno's sake. It's obvious that he really loves that man... he wouldn't put up with that much shit usually. He's usually got no problem with telling people where to stick it if they treat him badly. So it's obvious how much he wants a future with Jason." 

"The worst thing is... I can see how toxic that relationship is, thanks to being in so many of those myself," Darcey lowered her voice, so that nobody would overhear. Although the whole world knew about Leonardo Gonzales, she still didn't want to have her business overheard. "And whilst I doubt he will listen to us when we say that maybe breaking up with Jason would be the best idea... because I know I didn't listen to people when I was in toxic relationships... I wish I could be there for him. If he would allow me... I'd be there for him. But I'm not entirely sure he wants..." 

She was cut off by her phone beeping. Fishing it out of her bag, her heart leapt in her chest and she hoped that the good feeling she was getting from the message on her screen was real. 

Bruno 💺❤: Hi, Darce. Are you free tomorrow at about 1..? I was wondering if we could do lunch together at the West Wing..? 

Grinning wider than she had in weeks, Darcey typed back a response. 

Darce 👠💎: of course! I'll meet you there at 1. Hope you're okay x

Bruno 💺❤: I'll be fine. Jason's staying the night at his friend's place, so I've got the place to myself. I'll see you tomorrow, yeah..? X 

Darce 👠💎: yep! See you tomorrow Bruno x

And as she headed back indoors with Craig, Motsi and Jonathan, Darcey wondered if maybe, just maybe, she and Bruno were on the road to becoming friends again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Craig as Cruella De Vil was honestly the best thing ever 😂... 
> 
> Gutted there won't be a Jonathan Ross Halloween party this year..!! 
> 
> What did you think of this chapter? 
> 
> Do you think that Bruno wants to make it up with Darcey..?
> 
> Do you really dislike this version of Jason? (In this story, yes, I do 😂) 
> 
> I really hope that you guys are enjoying this story! Please let me know what you think ❤
> 
> Stay safe, stay happy and stay tuned! Until the next chapter y'all ❤


	26. no matter what

As Darcey pulled up outside the West Wing, she thought back to that August day in 2012 when she had come here to meet Bruno, Craig and Len for the first time. She had been so nervous that day, worried that her colleagues wouldn't like her.. it wouldn't have been the first time that that happened. Though her career as a ballerina was something she had loved almost every minute of, there were always some people she worked with that didn't like her, people who were jealous of her top position at the Royal Ballet. She had been worried that strictly would be exactly the same.. but what surprised her was just how close everyone was in the strictly family. Everyone got on like a house on fire, nobody was left out. It truly was like a family. She was genuinely shocked when Craig, Bruno and Len greeted her so warmly and started chatting away to her like they had known her all their lives. And though she was a shadow of the woman she was today back then, she had left the restaurant that August afternoon with a smile on her face and feeling like she was truly appreciated. 

Getting out of the car, she zipped her coat up and headed indoors, wondering whether or not Bruno would be there already. She expected he would be - Bruno was usually very early for things such as coffee dates or lunches with friends. And as she stepped foot in the door, she saw Bruno sitting at a table in the corner, looking around for her. The second he saw her, he began to wave, and Darcey smiled and headed over to him. 

"Hey Darce," he said, nodding at her as she sat down. "We.. we need to talk." 

Darcey nodded, and after they ordered a round of non-alcoholic drinks, Bruno began to talk. 

"Did you.. did you really mean it?" 

"Did I really mean what? That Jason should leave the party and that he treats you terribly? Because yes, I did mean every word of what I said to him. I'm sorry, Bruno, and I'll always support you no matter what, but I really can't stand that man and the way that he treats you." 

"I meant... did you mean it when you said that you didn't want to cut us out your life?" 

"I've been trying to tell you for the last however many weeks, Bruno. All anybody asks me about anymore is strictly. Why I chose to leave, whether I would ever consider going back, what kind of terms I'm on with my former colleagues... nothing else ever gets spoken about. Nobody cares any more about the fact I was a ballerina, or that I created Diverse Dance Mix, or anything like that. All anybody cares about is the fact that I left strictly, and I just wanted to talk about something else that day. I wanted the focus to be on something else I worked just as hard for. That article was heavily fabricated, and I'd never want to cut you out of my life.. you mean the world to me." 

Bruno stared at her, speechless for once. 

"You, Craig, Shirley, and Len when he was there, gave me some of the best moments of my life. From the moment that I met you, you made me feel so welcome and special, and helped me through some difficult times. Strictly made me so happy, gave me so much confidence after what happened with Leonardo and everything and I would never want to forget about it, okay..? I'm really really sorry if what I said hurt you, but I seriously wouldn't ever want to cut you out of my life..." her eyes filled with tears. 

"You don't need to apologise, Darce. It's me that owes you the apology," Bruno reached over and touched her hand. "I just.. I jumped to conclusions, and judged you when i shouldn't have done. And I'll never forgive myself." 

"I understand how it sounded, so I don't blame you for thinking that, but seriously I never would have wanted to hurt you," Darcey said softly. "Please believe me." 

"I do believe you. And I'm so sorry we didn't have this conversation before," said Bruno sadly. "I behaved so out of order." 

The waiter came and took their orders, then Darcey replied, "you did hurt me, yes, but I can understand why. The journalists make things seem a completely different way to how they are in reality a lot of the time." 

"I didn't think you would have shouted at Piers," Bruno admitted honestly, "because I know just how much you hate confrontation. And by the way, Darce... thank you for what you did last night. I'm so sorry about Jason." 

"You don't need to say sorry, Bruno. It's not your fault," replied Darcey, smiling as their drinks were placed in front of them. "It was entirely Jason's." 

"He didn't act like this when we first met," Bruno explained, looking really sad. "He was really nice the first few weeks.. I thought I'd found the one. It was around the time strictly and dancing with the stars began that things began to go wrong." 

"What happened..?" Darcey asked gently. "I mean.. I know barely anything about you guys." 

"We met at the theatre," replied Bruno, albeit a little reluctantly. "Seeing Cats, to be exact - one of the shows he's most famous for. It went from there really. The first few weeks were perfect... he was everything I've ever wanted. But then, as I said, it all started to go wrong around the time that strictly and dancing with the stars started. He got busier and busier.. and sometimes he wouldn't talk to me for hours. I knew that he was busy.. but he seemed to be disinterested in me. When I was rehearsing for the group dance with Motsi, Shirley and Craig, he came in for like five minutes, spent half of that time on his phone, and then left again. And just recently he's started to get angry at me for the least little things like he did last night. Last night.. I asked him not to get really drunk ahead of the party. And he didn't listen to me. I.. I don't think he has any respect for me." 

It was at that moment that tears began to roll down the Italian's face, which broke Darcey's heart seeing as Bruno was generally not an emotional person. She had only seen him cry a few times over the years they had been friends, and so seeing him cry right now made Darcey realise just how much Jason meant to him. 

"I'm not going to pass too much judgement on the matter, Bruno, because that was the first time I've met Jason. But from what I saw last night, and what I heard about him through Motsi and Craig, the way he treats you is truly terrible. Someone who truly loves you wouldn't act like it's an unpleasant chore to attend an event with you. Someone who truly loves you wouldn't slag off the show that's literally made you part of who you are today. Someone who truly loves you would listen to you and respect your wishes. And I don't think.. I don't think he treats you the way he should. You really deserve a lot better than him, Bruno. And whilst I'm not going to tell you what to do, because I know full well that you won't listen to me seeing as I was that way with previous boyfriends.. but I honestly don't think you deserve him." 

"I don't know what to do.. I really don't," sighed Bruno, resting his head on the table. "I want him to be in my life.. because I really love him, Darcey. More than I've loved anyone in a long time. But at the same time, he does upset me and I do feel like There's not much respect there.. I don't know whether I should keep hanging on for the good times - because when things are good, they're fucking good - or whether I should just call it quits." 

"It's hard, I know. For the sake of your mental health, Bruno, I'd say to walk away, but as I know Craig said to you before, this isn't a decision we can make for you. Nobody else can make it but you. But at the end of the day, your mental health and wellbeing is so important.. and if somebody is making you feel bad about yourself, you should cut them out your life." 

"I don't know... I'll think about it," replied Bruno, as their starters got brought over to them. "I'll have a think about what to do... but right now my brain is fucked up." 

"Okay," Darcey nodded, getting up from her chair and going over to envelop her best friend in a hug. "Whatever you choose, you know I'll support you, right? I've got your back no matter what." 

"Thank you so much, Darce. For everything.. especially after I've been so shit to you the last few weeks. How can I ever make it up to you?" 

"You don't have to. I've forgiven you, so we can just forget about it," Darcey smiled. "But no matter what, Bruno, I'm here for you. Whether you choose to stay with Jason or whether you cut him out.. I'll always be there for you." 

"Thank you so much, Darce," Bruno breathed, and as he cut into his chicken and mushroom pie, he wondered how on earth he ever got so lucky as to have such a forgiving and wonderfully supportive friend as Darcey Bussell. 

.. 

Jorge 🕺: OMG MOTSI 😂😂😂 I CANT STOP LAUGHING 😂😂😂😂

Jorge 🕺: I LITERALLY CAN'T BREATHE 😂😂😂😂😂😂

Jorge 🕺: MOTSHEGETSI MABUSE WHERE ARE YOU I NEED YOU TO HEAR THIS 😂😂😂😂

Joachim ⚀: Jorge, this is NOT funny!! 

Wondering what on earth was happening, Motsi began to type out a message. 

Motsi 💃🏿: what in the world is going on ?!?! 

Jorge 🕺: so you know how we are going on tour next week..? 

Next week was the start of the first ever let's dance live tour, which would last until the last week of November. Motsi would be joining them, but every Friday and Saturday there would be a replacement judge so that she could come back and do strictly. She knew that it was going to be a full on and exhausting next few weeks, but she absolutely couldn't wait to get on the road with Jorge and Joachim. 

Motsi 💃🏿: yessss and I'm so excited !!! ❤

Jorge: GUESS WHO THE JUDGE WHO WILL BE DOING FRIDAYS AND SATURDAYS IS....?? 😂😂😂😂

Motsi 💃🏿: who?! 😂😂😂

Jorge 🕺: JOACHIM'S BEST FRIEND... ROMAN FRIELING 😂😂😂

Motsi burst out laughing, remembering a certain exchange she had overheard several years back between Joachim and Roman that she would never forget. 

After an eventful show to say the least, Joachim went backstage with the intention of having a word with Roman. His overscoring had been obvious the last few weeks, but tonight, it had been downright ridiculous.. a dance that scored two points from one judge shouldn't receive ten from another. He was sick of the way that Roman acted like it was a joke, sick of how he didn't seem to take his role as seriously as he, Motsi and (most of the time) Harald did. Tonight was the final straw, and he was going to put a stop to it. 

Knocking on the door of Roman's dressing room, his co-judge opened it within seconds, grinning all over his face. 

"Hi, Joachim." 

"Can we talk..?" Joachim got straight to the point, and Roman nodded, letting him into the dressing room. Motsi, who had followed them, stood outside, with the intention of overhearing what her friend had to say. 

"What's up?" 

"Your scoring." 

Motsi almost laughed out loud outside the door - Joachim was never one to mince his words. 

"What on earth did you smoke tonight..? Are you mad, Roman?" 

"Oh calm down, Joachim, I did it for a reason. Next week, I bet you that Thomas will have made the biggest improvement of all of them." 

"Roman, giving celebrities tens to motivate them is not the way to do it!" Joachim exclaimed. "What you need to do is give them criticism so they can improve upon their mistakes! Your scoring the last few weeks has been a joke and I'm not just talking about Thomas. If you want to give somebody a ten, at least give it to somebody who deserves it! Tens mean perfection!" 

"Well, I'm sorry Joachim, but not everyone is as harsh as you," Roman laughed, not at all affected by Joachim's words. "Plus, I'm not the only one! Harald and Motsi usually mark higher than you and last year, Harald consistently marked like 5 points higher than you... so I don't see why it's only me you've got the problem with." 

"Okay, maybe I don't always agree with Motsi and Harald's scoring," Joachim responded, sounding progressively more infuriated, "especially Harald, but at least they don't randomly give out tens to a dance that was barely worth the 4 that our friend Motsi gave. It's not fair on the other contestants... and from now on, I'd appreciate it if you could stop turning this show into a joke." 

"All right, all right! Good god Joachim, I'm deeply sorry," Roman rolled his eyes. "And I'll only give tens from now on.." 

"When they actually deserve it. If a couple deserves a ten, then by all means give them a ten. But don't give them tens just to motivate them.. that's absolutely ridiculous. Thank you," Joachim interrupted him, before turning around smartly and leaving Roman to his own devices, hoping that maybe, just maybe, he had gotten the message now. 

The next time that Roman gave somebody a ten was in the final, but despite that, Joachim still felt annoyed with him for the rest of the series for losing himself the way he did. He felt annoyed at Harald too, but at Roman more. He didn't know what it was... he just always got the impression that Roman didn't take it seriously, and that he hideously overmarked people just for the fun of it. 

Harald left at the end of the series, and after one more series on the panel, Roman announced at the final that he wouldn't be returning the next year. In 2013, a Cuban- German model, choreographer and fashion show stylist named Jorge Gonzalez joined the panel, and within two weeks of meeting him, Joachim and Jorge were very close friends. 

Jorge was probably the most generous on the panel, and Joachim often didn't agree with his scoring, but, as Joachim thought to himself, he at least had reasoning behind his scores. The first ten he gave somebody was to someone who Joachim thought did deserve it, and Motsi also gave a ten to that someone. 

"What are you laughing at, Motsi?" Shirley looked very confused. 

It was Friday evening and Motsi had gone over to spend some time with Shirley, keep her company whilst she recovered from her surgery. As there was limited things the Wallasey-born dancer was allowed to do or felt like doing, the two of them were sitting on the sofa wrapped in blankets, watching the TV. Audrey was in the kitchen making dinner, and Danny was doing Blood Brothers, although he had promised to come home after the show to see Shirley for a few hours. 

"Remember I told you I was going on tour next week..?"

"Yes!" 

"Well.. seeing as I can't do Friday and Saturday due to strictly, they've had to get in another judge to replace me on those days. And the judge that's standing in used to be really, really generous with his scoring, and once, he gave a contestant a ten just to motivate them to dance better.. which really annoyed Joachim." 

"Seriously?" Shirley laughed.

"Yep!"

"What did the rest of you score them?" 

"Back in those days we had four judges, like on strictly. Roman, that's the one who's coming back for the tour, gave the ten. Harald, who could sometimes overmark but wasn't as bad, gave a six. I gave a four, and Joachim a two." 

"And I thought sometimes Bruno and Craig didn't agree!" Shirley laughed, as Audrey came into the room. 

"I've made dinner - chicken and broccoli," she announced. "Motsi, do you want to stay and eat with us..?"

"I'd love to," Motsi smiled, getting up from the sofa and watching as Shirley got up slowly and carefully, making sure not to strain herself. "Thank you!"

"Well, come on then!" Audrey told the two ladies. 

As Shirley headed into the dining room, Motsi quickly replied to the messages that had been sent in the group chat 

Joachim ⚀: this seriously isn't funny, Jorge... 

Motsi 💃🏿: I'm sorry Joachim, but its hilarious !! 😂😂😂 and I for one am excited for this tour even more now 😂😂😂 I can't wait to see you guys on Sunday for lunch!!! ❤

Jorge 🕺: we can't wait to see you either !! So excited for you to be back in Germany chicaaaaa 😍

Smiling at her friend's message, Motsi turned off her phone and headed into the dining room to have dinner with Audrey and Shirley.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A nice longer chapter for you 😊
> 
> I was wondering guys, would you like it if I added Motsi in on the strictly come dancing live tour? I know she wasn't in reality, because she had her daughter in Germany and other commitments, but I was wondering if you would like it if I added her in on the tour in this book? 😊
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!! Let me know your thoughts! 
> 
> Also, the confrontation between Joachim and Roman is absolutely fictional, but based off the conversation that Louis Walsh and Simon Cowell had during and after the X Factor audition of Chico Slimani. I haven't watched the x factor properly since the year after little mix won, but I LOVE to watch all the bad auditions! So this one is based off their exchange at Chico's audition, where Simon said it would be a joke if Louis voted Chico through, and after Louis did vote him through, they went backstage and Simon basically said Louis needed to take it more seriously and that it was making a mockery of the competition. 
> 
> See you guys in the next chapter! Stay safe, stay happy and stay tuned ❤


	27. back again

"You sure you're okay?" Motsi asked Shirley, as they prepared to make their strictly entrance the next day. 

"I promise you, I'm absolutely fine," Shirley reassured her, waving her hand. "Yes I'm in pain, but that's only to be expected. I'll forget about it once we're onstage." 

Motsi was in awe of her friend's strength. Wanting a clear head for the show, she had refused morphine or any strong painkillers, and was determined to make it through the hours and hours of filming just as she always did. Being in panto with Danny from the start of next month was her ultimate goal, and she was going to get there, one way or another. Craig had done it once, six years ago, and she was going to do it too. 

"You really are so strong," she breathed, making Shirley shake her head and laugh. 

"I'm really not," she replied, "but thank you!" 

With that, the judges got announced and so they began to make their way out, one by one, as Tess and Claudia shouted out their names. And if she had said nothing about her surgery, Motsi wouldn't have even guessed that she had had an operation just a few days ago. She walked a tiny bit slower, and didn't try any flamboyant moves or poses during her entrance, but apart from that it wasn't obvious at all. After they posed Motsi helped Shirley up the little step and into her seat, making sure that she was okay and that she didn't come to any harm. She felt very protective over the older woman. 

As it was week seven now, officially halfway through the competition, everyone had tried to massively up their game. They were all acutely aware that there were no room for mistakes any more, and had been putting even more hours in than ever before. Motsi knew for a fact that Oti and Kelvin had been doing 13 hour training days - arriving at the studios at 8 in the morning and going home at 9 in the evening. 

Although nobody was particularly bad, there were a couple of contestants who made some mistakes or just didn't receive scores as high as some of their friends did. Saffron and AJ, who had performed a brilliant jive last week, dropped by eight points with their salsa. It was evident Saffron struggled with the routine, but she was still awarded 27 points, which she seemed fairly happy with. Emma Weymouth also made mistakes, and her samba just wasn't what the judges had hoped it would be, which was a shame especially after her outstanding Viennese waltz and her fantastic Charleston last week. 

"I have a feeling she'll be in the bottom two," sighed Motsi, as Emma and Aljaz were interviewed by Claudia after receiving their scores. "That routine was just.. forgettable and at this stage in the competition that just cannot happen." 

Emma Barton also had a drop in scores - the rumba was never an easy dance for anyone, and she really seemed to struggle with it. But although it wasn't her best, Motsi was actually quite surprised at how much Shirley seemed to dislike it. Her comments to them were unnecessarily harsh, and after she saw the disappointment in Emma's eyes, Motsi tried to give as positive a critique as possible. 

The highlights of the evening were Karim, who got three tens for his quickstep, and Kelvin, who performed a beautiful Viennese waltz that almost left Motsi in tears. Seeing her sister dance every week so beautifully with somebody so talented made her so proud, and though of course she had to remain unbiased, she hoped that she and Kelvin would go all the way to the final. Michelle and Giovanni were also fantastic as always, but the biggest surprise was definitely Chris, who got his highest score yet with a street dance to Let's Get Ready To Rhumble. From thirteen points in the first week to thirty four points in week seven, Chris had made a massive improvement and Motsi couldn't help but feel pride in him. She always loved to witness journeys, when contestants started off mediocre but then went on to be amazing, and Chris was a prime example of a "journey contestant". 

"Bottom two predictions..?" Craig questioned, as they sat backstage in the interval. 

"I'm thinking Emma Weymouth unfortunately, because as I said earlier, she's already been in one dance off and that dance tonight was forgettable," Motsi responded, "and maybe Emma Barton or Saffron? Joachim is thinking a battle between the Emma's, and Jorge think it's going to be Emma Weymouth versus Mike." 

"Mike could be in the dance off - he's already been in two so I don't think he's that popular with the public sadly," Craig said thoughtfully. "The thing with this show, is that nobody is ever safe. And I think we were reminded of that when Dev left. It doesn't matter how good you are.. one bad week, one forgettable dance and it could be the end of the road, unfortunately." 

"Agreed," Shirley nodded, "It'll be an interesting elimination either way." 

"Are you guys coming to get pizza tonight?" Bruno asked suddenly. He had been a lot happier today, his talk and reconciliation with Darcey had really made him a lot happier than he had been at the Halloween party. Unfortunately, Shirley refused to be friends with Darcey again, still not quite believing that she really was innocent. She still believed that Darcey really had wanted to cut them out, and was far from the point where she would be her best friend again. This made Bruno, Motsi and Craig rather sad, but they just hoped that, at some point soon, Shirley would realise that Darcey had done nothing wrong just like Bruno did and make friends with her again. 

"Sorry Bruno, I can't. I have to go straight to the airport after this to catch the last flight out the country to Germany," Motsi replied. 

"Oh yeah, sorry! I forgot about that," Bruno chuckled. "Are you looking forward to the tour..?" 

"Yes! It's going to be great touring for the first time with the crew and seeing Joachim and Jorge again," Motsi beamed, sipping some water. "I know it's going to be really exhausting but it's definitely going to be worth it." 

"I'm so excited for the strictly tour this year," Bruno admitted, "I love that all four of us get to go this time! It's always so much fun." 

"We usually spend the mornings shopping and taking things at our own pace, then we have the matinee, then we have some time to chill, then it's the evening show, then we generally go and get dinner together," Shirley talked Motsi through the itinerary. "We'll have an absolute blast together!" 

Motsi was very excited for both tours. Touring was definitely one of her favourite things - getting to visit all these new places doing what she loved, getting to spend so much time with people she loved, and performing to sold out arenas and theatres each night. She knew that both tours that she was lucky enough to be part of were going to be amazing and she couldn't wait to get on the road with some of her favourite people. 

.. 

The results show went without a hitch, and the dance off ended up being between Mike and Emma Weymouth, just as Jorge had predicted. It was a sad elimination, but Motsi knew that the competition was getting even tougher and after the shock of Dev last week... anyone could go. Not even front runners like Kelvin or Karim were safe.. if the public didn't like them, then they were in danger of being thrown in the dance off no matter whether they scored 10 points or 40 points. 

Emma said her goodbyes to everyone, then Aljaz did a small speech about how he had loved working with the Viscountess, and then finally they did their leaving dance. They were almost instantly surrounded by a bunch of the strictly contestants and pros, all there to hug them and say they were sorry to see them go. That was another thing Motsi loved about strictly and let's dance - everyone was so close, and when somebody got eliminated, they were always there to support them and say that they would miss them in the competition. It would be so easy for them to be happy about it, that their competition was being eliminated, but they just weren't. They supported each other and were there for each other, and that's what Motsi loved so much about them. 

As soon as the cameras stopped rolling, Motsi headed backstage to grab her luggage. Despite having done a full week of rehearsals and a performance tonight, Oti had very kindly offered to drive her to the airport, so she would be dropping her off and then heading back to her place. After getting her luggage from the dressing room, she headed into the Star Bar to find Oti and say goodbye to her friends. 

"Are you off now, Motsi?" Bruno asked, looking up as Motsi wheeled her suitcase over to them. 

"Yes, I am," Motsi nodded, giving Bruno a hug. "I'll see you guys next week. Have a great time on Celebrity Juice, Craig, and I hope your mum enjoys coming to the show!" 

"I'm actually regretting saying she can come, that show is nasty," Craig drawled. "Thank you though! I hope the tour goes well." 

"Thanks! Shirley, rest up, and I hope you feel better soon. You're an absolute warrior for getting through tonight," Motsi told her friend, gently hugging her. "And Bruno, look after yourself. And if Jason gives you any hassle, then call me, okay?" 

"Will do," Bruno nodded. "Thanks, Motsi." 

"Are you ready to go then, sis?" Oti came running over from where she had been talking to the female pros. 

"Yep. Come on then!" Motsi smiled at her friends before following her younger sister out of the Star Bar and down to where her car was parked. Chucking her luggage into the boot, Motsi got into the front passenger seat and checked her phone for the first time since the show went live, smiling at the numerous messages Jorge and Joachim had sent her. They were mostly of Jorge being annoyed because he felt that Michelle was "undermarked", and being proud because he correctly predicted the dance off. 

"Say hi to Joachim and Jorge for me, won't you?" Oti asked, as she saw Motsi replying to their messages. "We definitely need to all meet up again soon." 

Oti also got on very well with Joachim and Jorge - she was close with them both but more so with Jorge because she had spent more time with him and knew him better. One year when his Christmas flight to his native Cuba got cancelled, she actually invited Jorge to spend Christmas with the Mabuses in Germany. Oti obviously knew that she would be seeing both men in just a few weeks when they came to watch strictly, but she didn't let on, not wanting the surprise to be ruined for Motsi. 

"I will do. And yes! Hopefully we can all meet up after strictly is finished," Motsi said optimistically. "What dance have you and Kelvin got next week..?" 

"We have salsa, and I think Kelvin will be fantastic at it," Oti replied, "if his samba was anything to go by, that is." 

"Jorge's going to be thrilled then! He's literally not stopped talking about your samba." 

"Well if that isn't typical Jorge Gonzalez for you," laughed Oti, swerving around a corner. "When he.." she cut herself off quickly, realising that she had been about to give away the fact that Jorge and Joachim would be coming to sit in the studios in just a few short weeks. 

"When he what?" Motsi prompted her sister. 

"When he sees the salsa, I hope he'll love it!" Oti quickly covered up her mistake, and fortunately, Motsi seemed to notice nothing out of the ordinary. 

They pulled up outside the airport fifteen minutes later, and after seeing her through to security controls, Oti threw her arms around her older sister and said her goodbyes. 

"Let me know when you get to Germany," she told her, "and send my love to all the cast won't you? Especially Joachim and Jorge."

"Of course I will," Motsi nodded, hugging her back. "I'll make sure of it." 

With that, Oti left and Motsi headed through security controls. On the other side, she went into a small cafeteria and after browsing the option, decided to just have a chocolate muffin. She didn't want to be too full for her flight, and if she got too hungry on the flight, she could always order something from the trolley. Adding a bottle of water to her order, she went and sat down at the corner table, hoping that nobody would recognise her - she was tired and couldn't wait to get into the air so that she could just fall asleep for a couple of hours. Strictly was amazing, and she wouldn't change her role for the world, but it really did take it out of her each and every week.

Joachim ⚀: and on the whole Motsi, your scoring this week was very good! 👏

Motsi 💃🏿: oh thank you SO much Joachim 😂

Motsi 💃🏿: I have exciting news for you Jorge !!! 

Jorge 🕺: WHAT OMG? DO TELL?! 

Motsi 💃🏿: one of your favourite contestants (his name begins with K) is dancing the salsa next weekend !!! 

Jorge 🕺: OMG IS HE ACTUALLY? AHHHHHH 

Motsi laughed out loud at her friends excitable reaction, before realising that she was in a public place and that everyone around her could hear her. 

Motsi 💃🏿: I thought you might be just a little bit happy about that 😂😂

Jorge 🕺: THIS IS SO EXCITING!! 

Jorge 🕺: tonight, my absolute favourite dance was actually Chris!! Who knew he had it in him??? Michelle and Kelvin were still amazing though, and I'm so glad they all got through 😍

Joachim ⚀: sorry to change the subject Motsi, but are you on your way to Germany now?? 

Motsi 💃🏿: if by that you mean "am I at the airport ? " then yes 😂

Jorge 🕺: yayyyy! Can't wait to see you 😍

Joachim ⚀: I'm so looking forward to tomorrow!! Let's Dance on tour is going to be amazing! 

Motsi 💃🏿: it absolutely is !!! 

..

Two hours later, Motsi was pulling her suitcase along behind her, exhausted. She had barely slept on the plane due to a baby screaming the entire way there and a child making a lot of noise behind her, and now she was unusually grumpy and couldn't wait to just get home to her place and snuggle up in bed. 

But as soon as she stepped through to the arrivals area, all that melted away as she saw a familiar face waiting there for her. A tall guy, with his long dark hair piled on top of his head, grinning at her... 

Jorge had come to meet her. 

"I didn't expect you to be here!" she exclaimed, racing over to him with the biggest smile on her face. 

"I wanted to surprise you! Welcome home, Motsi Mabuse," Jorge pulled her into an embrace, and Motsi couldn't stop herself from smiling uncontrollably. "Joachim was going to come, but he fell asleep on his sofa straight after strictly and I didn't want to be the bad guy and wake him up. And you know what it's like when you wake Llambi up, after all..." 

Motsi laughed, nodding as she remembered the not so amused reactions of Joachim when they had woken him from sleep before. "All too well!" 

"Tonight we'll go home to my place, then tomorrow afternoon we're meeting Joachim for lunch," Jorge told his friend, as they began to walk towards the car. "You look exhausted." 

"I am exhausted! This baby didn't stop screaming the entire flight," Motsi rolled her eyes. "Like I get why babies cry on flights, but the entire flight.. really..?" 

"That sounds rough," Jorge sympathised, taking hold of Motsi's suitcase for her. "Well, when we get to mine, you can sleep for as long as you like. We're not meeting Joachim till 1 tomorrow." 

"That's all right then," Motsi laughed, so glad to be back in Germany with one of her best friends by her side. "Jorge..?"

"Yes, Chica?" Jorge got behind the wheel of the car and got ready to drive off. 

"Thank you so much for coming to get me," Motsi said with a huge smile on her face. "I really appreciate it." 

"Oh Motsi, you're more than welcome!" Jorge exclaimed, giving her another hug before putting the car in gear and beginning to drive home to his house. "It's the least that I could do for my friend. It's so amazing to have you back here more often now." 

And as they drove to Jorge's home, singing along to the songs on the radio at the tops of their lungs, Motsi couldn't have felt any more content. 

Yep, she thought as they sped along the motorway, it's great to be back again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes! I've decided to include Motsi in the strictly tour!! 😍
> 
> Although she obviously wasn't earlier this year, I thought it would be a fun thing to add in!


	28. shining eyes

Motsi, Joachim and Jorge sat at a corner table in one of their favourite restaurants just a matter of hours later, waiting for the fourth member of their table to arrive. Roman had been invited to lunch, so that they could talk and spend some time together ahead of the tour, and so they were patiently waiting for him, hoping he wouldn't be too much longer. Joachim, however, was despairing, as every time Roman's name was mentioned, Jorge would burst out laughing. He had started laughing just a few minutes ago when he saw that a certain item on the menu was worth 10 euros, and Joachim just wanted to put his head in his hands. 

"When Roman comes in, Jorge, please try and act normal," sighed Joachim. 

Jorge, who had been avidly reading the menu, burst out laughing once again. 

Joachim sighed - this was going to be a long afternoon. 

At that moment, the door to the restaurant swung open and in walked a dark-haired guy in a black T-shirt and shorts, though it was early November. The man made straight for their table, and as Joachim and Motsi stood up to greet him, Jorge tried hard to stop himself from laughing. 

It was Roman Frieling. 

"Roman, this is Jorge Gonzalez," Joachim introduced them, for they had never met before, "and Jorge, this is Roman Frieling." 

"Pleasure to meet you," Roman stepped forward to shake Jorge's hand, but as he shook it, Jorge started laughing hysterically once again. Joachim sighed loudly, and gestured at Jorge to go outside - fortunately, Jorge took the hint and walked outside, laughing all the way. 

"Sorry about that," Joachim chuckled, as they sat down at the table together, Roman sitting next to him whilst Motsi sat beside Jorge. 

"Oh, don't worry. How have you guys been since I saw you last?" Roman questioned, the last time he was referring to being the last let's dance episode they filmed together. "I'm really excited to be back for this tour. I didn't expect it!" 

"I didn't expect it either, to be honest. I thought it might be Maite that came back - she was saying not long ago that she really misses the show," replied Joachim, taking a sip from his red wine. The restaurant was only ten minutes from his house, so he could easily walk back and not have to drive whilst intoxicated. 

"But it's great to see you back at the same time," Motsi chimed in, as Jorge came back in with a serious face, having laughed till his tummy hurt over the fact that he was sitting at the same table for lunch as Roman Frieling. "Jorge's back." 

"Sorry about that," Jorge said with as straight a face as he could muster. "It's lovely to meet you, Roman." 

"Jorge's been laughing every time your name is mentioned," Joachim explained, as Roman was looking extremely confused at the Cuban's behaviour. "Because of.. you know.. the moment you're most well known for on Let's Dance?" 

"Oh! The time I gave Thomas a ten?" Roman chuckled. "That was definitely an iconic moment, wasn't it? I remember Joachim going crazy at me backstage." 

"It was quite frankly terrible, and there was no way in hell that Thomas deserved it," Joachim said with an effort, knowing things would be easier on the tour if they were all friends, "but.. at least your scoring got slightly better in your second series. And it is quite nice to see you again." 

"Don't worry, Joachim, I will judge accordingly on this tour," Roman joked as they took orders for food. "Seeing as I know how important this tour is for you." 

Joachim was the director of the entire tour, just like Craig was in the UK. He had been asked if he wanted to do it, and he had jumped at the chance, although he was slightly worried about whether or not it would work out. But with some advice from his friends, particularly Jorge and Motsi, he had managed to create something he thought the audiences would love. Roman was right - It was really important for him that the show went well and received good reviews. He had worked so hard, and more than anything, he wanted it to work out and be a success. 

"It is.. but Roman, this is the Tour, not the real thing. This is a bit of lighthearted fun for everyone and is nowhere near as serious as the real thing," Joachim explained, pointing to the item on the menu that he wanted to order. "And I'm not going to kill you if you give someone a deliberately high score when they don't deserve it." 

"In the UK, on the last live tour, one of the contestants who reached the finals - Joe Sugg - danced his showdance. Anyway, he fell over halfway through it, and that was the only mistake he made, but as a joke Craig gave him a 2," Motsi explained. "And they would often get perfect scores if their families were in the audience or if they were in their home town - as Joachim says, it's a bit of fun." 

Roman and Joachim chatted away very happily after that, more so than they had ever done before. Even before Joachim lost it over Thomas's score, they had never exactly been the best of friends - they just hadn't been all that close. They had constantly disagreed on the panel and in a series of interviews, Roman had insinuated that he knew way more and had way more experience than Joachim. Joachim had also never liked the fact that Roman was incredibly inconsistent in his first series - he either over scored couples or massively underscored couples. It was easy to tell who his favourites were and that was something Joachim simply despised. He had favourites - all the judges did - but the difference was, he tried his very best to remain impartial and not let on who his favourites were. Things had never been great between the two of them, but now, they were getting on better than ever before, and Joachim became even more excited for touring around the country with his two best friends and somebody who was fast becoming an actual friend. All the way through their lunch, they all chatted together about all sorts of things, from Roman's new projects to Strictly Come Dancing, obviously. It turned out that Roman had been watching it, using a VPN similar to Jorge and Joachim, and he was greatly enjoying it. 

"My favourite contestant is definitely that Karim guy," Roman divulged, as they started on their main courses. "He's just amazing! Although I must admit that Kelvin is fantastic as well and your sister's choreography is just insane." 

"They're dancing a salsa next week, and Jorge is already super excited," Motsi laughed, gesturing to her friend. "He adores all salsas and sambas." 

"And he literally hasn't stopped going on about that week 1 samba that Kelvin did," Joachim interjected, with a laugh. 

"Oh, that was fantastic! I loved it too," Roman agreed passionately. "And you're a fantastic judge, Motsi. You really fit in seamlessly." 

"Well, thank you!" Motsi replied, smiling widely. "I really am loving it. It's just the most amazing show to be part of."

"And I'm extremely proud of my chica," Jorge beamed, shoving another forkful of his lunch into his mouth. "She's doing a fantastic job." 

Motsi blushed at this praise from her friend, secretly delighted that Jorge thought so much of her. 

"We'll have another round of drinks, please," Joachim told the waitress, who had come over to see whether they were enjoying their meal. "Two waters, one red wine and one white wine?" he confirmed with his friends, who all nodded. 

"Of course. That'll be ten euros please," the waitress replied, writing it all down on her notepad and coming back to them with the receipt. 

Hearing the number that the waitress had said, Joachim looked pleadingly over at Jorge as if to implore Please don't start again. 

But it was too late. 

Jorge burst out laughing once again, even louder than before, unable to hold it in any longer.. and Joachim's desperate looks at him asking him to please calm down were in vain. 

.. 

Roman wasn't actually needed on the panel until Friday, but he still came along to the hotel with them all that evening after some very last minute rehearsals Joachim insisted upon and stayed there. Joachim, Jorge and Motsi were all sharing a room, but Roman was having his own room, a couple of floors down. He didn't mind about this one bit, however, saying he enjoyed his alone time. 

"Honestly, I'll be fine, guys," he reassured them, giving them a lordly wave before heading off to his own room. "See you tomorrow!" 

"He's not that bad really," Joachim shook his head, as he watched Roman descend the stairs. 

"That is one sentence I thought I'd never hear you utter, Joachim Llambi," Motsi laughed, leading them all back to Room 505, where they were staying. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to unpack and then just get into bed." 

"Sounds like a plan," Jorge nodded, pushing the door open and flinging his stuffed suitcase onto the bed he decided upon for himself. 

"Jorge, my dear friend, have you ever heard the phrase travel light?" Joachim asked, chuckling as Jorge struggled to unzip his bulky luggage. "I mean.. what on earth do you need this gold jacket with tassels for..? And what on earth is this headpiece?" 

"You never know when you might need these things," Jorge replied simply, beginning to hang up his clothes and taking up a considerable amount of room in the rather small wardrobe. 

"But Jorge.. where are you even going to wear half this stuff?" the ever practical Joachim, who had only brought one small suitcase with him, inquired. 

"Just because you wear these normal boring clothes," Jorge rolled his eyes jokingly. 

"Jorge, I just love how you have more clothes than me," Motsi laughed, as she tried her hardest to confine all her clothes to the one small section of the wardrobe that Jorge's clothes were not occupying. "Joachim, I'm afraid that you'll have to keep your things in your suitcase." 

"That's fine," Joachim replied, taking out his night shirt from his bag and heading into the bathroom. "I'll be back in a moment - why don't one of you try get the TV working?" 

Jorge quickly changed into his pyjamas in the corner, then sat down on his bed, all his clothes packed away, and began to try and get the tv working at Joachim's suggestion. After a few minutes of fiddling, it came on at last, and Jorge got under the covers, phone in hand, ready for bed. It had been a long day, especially after Joachim's sudden rehearsals he had decided they must all go to, and he was quite frankly exhausted. 

"Right, so tomorrow morning, I think we should all go for a late breakfast in the town, and then just chill out ahead of the live show," Joachim said as he came back into the room, all dressed and ready for bed. "Then we can do the live show, have dinner, and come back and watch the strictly results show together before going to bed. Does that sound good..?" 

"Sounds simply wonderful, Joachim," nodded Jorge, getting out his plushie dog, which resembled perfectly his own little dog. He desperately missed Paco when he was away, so always brought this plushie of him with him instead, so that it was like Paco was with him. "I really want to find out who left on strictly. Please don't tell me who it really was, Motsi, but are Michelle and Kelvin safe?" 

"They are," Motsi confirmed, and Jorge breathed a huge sigh of relief. 

"Thank fuck. I'm glad that none of my faves left even though Michelle was undermarked - it's bad enough we lost Catherine and Johannes last week." 

He paused to think for a moment. 

"And plus.. if the judges had deprived me of a Kelvin salsa, I think I might actually have cried." 

.. 

Before they went on stage the next evening, Joachim crossed his fingers and prayed that all would go well. However, although it did go pretty smoothly, there were three small disasters. 

The first one happened when the judges walked out on stage. Jorge, who was wearing six inch stilettos, was only halfway down the steps when his shoe broke suddenly, the heel snapping. Acting quickly to save the show, Joachim swung Jorge up into his arms and carried him to the judges desk, unable to stop laughing over how something had already gone wrong. The second one happened when halfway through Ella's samba, which had scored the perfect 30 on the show, she tripped over her partner's feet. She very quickly recovered from it, however, like a true professional. The third disaster almost couldn't be counted as a disaster, because it was scripted by Joachim. 

"Funf!" Jorge exclaimed, as he held up a 3 paddle. 

Everyone burst out laughing, and Joachim felt very glad that he had decided to include that one, knowing how much of a meme the original Drei had become. 

The rest of the show, however went without a hitch. Jorge was his usual loud and enthusiastic self, as was Motsi, and there was no change in Joachim's judging style. All the couples danced well - even the ones that hadn't been the best on the show had improved and were just having so much fun in a much more relaxed environment than the live shows were, where their places in the competition were literally at stake. 

The audiences ended up voting for Ella and her dance partner to win the first show, which made Motsi smile as she felt that Ella had been robbed on the actual show. She had had the highest average, and she had danced better on most weeks than the actual winner Pascal. Pascal definitely deserved to win, but Motsi had been sad to not see Ella win as she had been the best dancer. So seeing her win the first trophy on this tour was a great feeling. 

"You know, I'm really proud of you, Llambi," Jorge said, smiling at his friend as they all went to take their bows. "Your hard work on this show really has paid off." 

"Honestly, Joachim, I'm not sure if they could have chosen a better director than you," agreed Motsi, the pride she felt in her friend immense. "This show was fantastic." 

"Thank you so much for your support, guys," Joachim said with shining eyes, as he watched the members of the audience get up and begin to leave the building, having enjoyed a great show. "I appreciate you both more than you'll ever know."


	29. fall apart

"Craig, would it be all right if I spoke to you alone for a minute..?" Kelvin knocked on the door of Craig's dressing room, hoping that the Australian would be free for a few moments so that they could talk. He had something rather important to tell Craig, and he didn't want to wait any longer. 

"Of course, darling," Craig nodded, and Kelvin gratefully stepped through the door and closed it behind him, hoping they wouldn't get interrupted. "What is it?" 

"I need your help with a surprise I'm planning for Motsi and Oti," explained Kelvin in a low voice, just in case anyone could hear. There was no way he wanted Motsi and Oti to find out about this, not until it actually happened. 

"Of course I'll help! What's the surprise?" Craig turned round in his chair to face the actor, wondering just what he might be looking so serious but at the same time so excited about. 

"Well you see.. Oti and Motsi's mum has never seen them on strictly," explained Kelvin. "A few weeks ago, Oti was telling me in rehearsals how her mum has never been able to watch her on strictly - the only time she's seen her is when Oti has showed her clips on her visits home - and she looked really sad about it. So I've paid for her mum and her godmother to come to the UK to watch her and Motsi at Blackpool, and I just hope I can dance good enough to get her through this week." 

Craig was taken aback at this revelation. He knew exactly how it felt for Oti and Motsi - his family never really got to watch the show in Australia, other than if the fans posted clips or he sent them clips. He was fortunate enough that his family had been to see the show a couple of times in the past, and he remembered how special it had been to see them actually sitting there in the audience watching him. 

"Kelvin, that's a gorgeous idea!" he exclaimed. "Motsi and Oti will be so happy! How do you want me to help?"

"Okay, so I'm telling Oti nothing about it until we walk on at Blackpool," explained Kelvin, talking his way through the plan that he had formulated over the last couple of weeks. "So what I want you to do is, when Oti and I come down the stairs, nudge Motsi and tell her to look over at wherever her mum is sitting - I'll let you know on the day where exactly that is, but I presume she'll sit near Jonathan. And then I'll nudge Oti at the same time, and then they'll both get to find out at the same time!" 

"I'll definitely do that," Craig replied, smiling as he thought about how happy his friend was going to be. Blackpool and Musicals week were going to be so special for her - Blackpool because of her mum being there, and musicals because Joachim and Jorge were going to be there. Oti had told the judges about Motsi's close friends coming over, but had sworn them to secrecy, wanting it to be a complete surprise when it happened. 

"Thank you so much," Kelvin thanked the Australian, "and as should be obvious.. don't say a word to Motsi or Oti, okay?" 

"My lips are sealed," Craig replied, with a laugh. "Blackpool will be even more of an exciting week." 

Kelvin left soon after that, wanting to go backstage, chat with everybody and get ready for the show tonight. He knew that this week, he had to dance better than he had ever done before, to secure them a place in next week's show. Blackpool was a week that meant a lot to everyone, it was the week that so many contestants set themselves the challenge of reaching. Kelvin knew that even if they got eliminated tonight, Oti's mum would still get to see her dance in the group dances, but he wanted more than anything to dance perfectly for Oti so that they had a higher chance of getting through to next week and allowing her mum to see her dance with a partner. Their salsa had been quite difficult, and Kelvin had had problems picking it up at first and getting it right, but they had slowly got there and he just hoped that it wouldn't fall apart tonight on live television, where it really mattered. 

Shortly after Kelvin left, there was a knock on the door, and Shirley put her head round it, her hair done up in curlers. 

"We're just getting ready for lunch in my dressing room, if you're wanting to join," she said, and Craig immediately got up out of his chair and followed the Wallasey-born woman out of his dressing room. "Motsi's just arrived." 

"Indeed I have!" Motsi put her head out of Shirley's dressing room door. "Sorry I'm a bit later. I overslept." 

"No need to worry, darling. You've been touring all week, we'll let you off," Craig said, as they all sat around on the floor in Shirley's dressing room, where Bruno was shuffling the plates. "How was the tour, in any case?" 

"Great, thanks! It was great being back with Joachim and Jorge again, and touring is one of my favourite things," Motsi replied, as Bruno handed her a plate. 

"How are they? Joachim and Jorge?" 

"Oh, they're great! They're so much fun to tour with, seriously. Jorge is super excited about tonight's show, because Kelvin's doing a salsa.. he loves salsas and sambas. And he says he'll cry if Michelle and Kelvin don't get through to Blackpool. One of his favourite contestants has already gone - Catherine." 

"Catherine left far too soon," Shirley remarked, helping herself to some salad and some of the usual chicken she had brought with her. "I wish I could have saved her but Mike was just better that night technically and that was what I had to base it off of." 

"Who do you think will go tonight..?" Bruno, who had been very quiet so far, asked. He seemed very sad and withdrawn, and Motsi wondered if maybe something had happened between him and Jason. She sincerely hoped not, and hoped that if there was something wrong he could talk to her, but she couldn't think of anything else that would make him seem this way. 

"I honestly have no clue. It could be Mike, because I'd say he's one of the weakest left, but at the same time it could be literally anyone," Motsi replied, and she genuinely couldn't put her finger on who it might be. 

"Hey Motsi, how did things go with Roman?" Craig chuckled, as he took another mouthful of the chicken baguette that he had made himself. 

"Not too bad! Joachim and him seem to have settled their issues," laughed Motsi, "and Jorge's finally stopped laughing every time that he hears the name Roman or sees him. So that's a bonus, I guess." 

"I'd definitely say so," Shirley laughed, as she took a photo of her plate of food and posted it on her Instagram story, typing "having lunch with the three best people ❤". "I'd definitely say so." 

.. 

Kelvin's dance wasn't perfect, and didn't score any 10s - but their salsa did receive 35 points from the judges. It was racing-themed, as Kelvin was a racing car driver alongside his acting career, and he seemed to enjoy every single second. Motsi couldn't stop screeching the entire way through, absolutely loving it, knowing that in Germany Jorge would be fangirling when he got to see it after the show. Craig pulled her up on this in his critique, saying "well I couldn't enjoy it because Motsi was screeching in my ear the whole way through", very similar to a comment he had made on the tour this year. "I couldn't focus on it because Dame Darcey was screeching in my ear trying to yodel the whole way through!" was the scripted comment that Craig made on tour every night after Faye and Giovanni's Sound of Music themed Charleston, the dance that had been voted Best Musicals Week Dance of All Time. 

Saffron and AJ topped the leaderboard that night, with an almost perfect score of 39/40. Their waltz to Your Song was just beautiful, and even Craig was left slightly speechless, simply saying that AJ was a clever cherub and that the dance was absolutely gorgeous. Coming a close second to them scores wise was Giovanni and Michelle, who danced an American smooth to I Just Want To Make Love To You. Craig couldn't stop chuckling as Michelle walked onto the floor with Giovanni ready to begin their dance, and Motsi leaned over and whispered, "why are you laughing?" 

"Michelle hates green. She's always saying on Drag Race that she hates when they wear green," Craig laughed to Motsi, a non Drag Race watcher. "So it's just really ironic that she's wearing green right now." 

Michelle and Giovanni received 36 points, and once again, Motsi knew that when he got to see it, Jorge would be over the moon. Chris and Karen danced a tango to Survivor and it was evidently a dance he struggled with, but he still received lots of positive comments from the judges and a still rather subdued Bruno dished out a 7. "I hope he gets to Blackpool," Motsi whispered to her fellow judges, "he's just such a fantastic personality and has worked so hard the last few weeks." 

Neil had finally been cleared to come back to dancing with Alex after his knee injury two weeks ago, and Motsi was so glad to see him back on the dance floor with their jive to Let's Twist Again. They scored slightly lower than Alex had the last two weeks, but at the same time they still scored 31 and they were happy with that. Emma Barton was dancing her couples choice, and she chose a jazz routine, which meant that inevitably, a lot of people on social media would compare her to Faye Tozer, who danced an unforgettable jazz routine last year. Their dance actually bore some resemblance to Faye's dance, but was original at the same time, and whilst it wasn't quite as amazing as Faye's, it still scored a fantastic 33/40 points. Karim and Amy danced a Viennese waltz, which scored lower than their quickstep of the week before but still gave them 30 points, a respectable score. Motsi could see the disappointment in the CBBC star's eyes, but just hoped that his seemingly large fanbase would help him get to the next week. The one and only couple who didn't score so well was Mike and Katya, with 25 points to their pasodoble set to the song Tamacun, but Motsi could see just how hard he was trying and felt bad for the amount of hate he had been receiving lately. Ever since he beat Catherine in the dance off two weeks ago, he had been receiving some vile comments online, and they had only gotten worse when he narrowly escaped elimination again the week before against Emma Weymouth. Motsi agreed that maybe he wasn't the best dancer, but he had danced better in both those dance offs and nobody deserved such vile hate, especially not over a light hearted Saturday night entertainment show. She had a feeling that this might just be his week to leave, but she knew he had had great fun up to this point and she knew just how hard he had worked. Often when she walked through the corridors backstage, she would see Mike practicing the week's routine in a corner, or muttering steps to himself, or asking Katya for advice to do his very best on the live show. She loved contestants that would try their hardest even when they weren't the best, who would put 110% effort in every week and want to improve more than anything. Mike was the epitome of that contestant for her, and she was proud of him. 

It was indeed Mike that got eliminated that week in the results show, which wasn't a surprise but still sad. Before the two people in the dance off were revealed, there were two Remembrance Day professional routines to be performed. The first involved all of the professionals, and it was set to Time After Time. It had many different storylines weaved into it, and the young boy that had been chosen to be a part of the dance brought tears to many people's eyes. Motsi couldn't quite get over how brilliantly clever the choreography was and thought it was simply beautiful - and she thought it was very well led by Amy, who had also been lead of the Remembrance Day routine last year. Then there was a pro dance featuring just Johannes and Nadiya, with Welsh singer Luke Evans performing his cover of the Les Miserables song Bring Him Home. There was complete silence in the room as Luke sang and Johannes and Nadiya danced - the audience had been instructed to stay silent throughout, out of respect - and by the end of it, Motsi had tears streaming down her cheeks. Shirley quickly pressed a tissue into her hand and squeezed her hand under the table, her own eyes sparkling with tears. 

Mike was in the dance off - but the couple against them shocked everyone to the core. There was an audible gasp around the room when their names were announced, and even Craig's eyes widened in shock. 

Michelle and Giovanni. 

"I did not expect that!" Motsi hissed to her co-judges, as they made their way upstairs for Dance Debrief. "Jorge's going to absolutely lose his mind when he hears this news. I guess everyone just thought they were safe." 

After a quick chat in the Clauditorium, it was time for Michelle and Giovanni to take to the floor again and Mike and Katya as well. And it was no contest, really. The winners of the dance off were Michelle and Giovanni by miles, with an overall much better executed dance, and it was a unanimous vote to save them, meaning Mike and Katya were eliminated. Although they were obviously sad to no longer be part of the competition, Mike was very positive and gracious, and what followed was one of the most iconic final dances that anyone had ever seen. Everyone took part in a massive conga line, even the judges, and they all celebrated Mike's stint on the show in the best way possible. Motsi couldn't help but whoop and cheer as she, Bruno and Craig joined the conga line - Shirley wanted to more than anything, but she still had to be very careful of the scars that were healing from her surgery, so she just had to watch her friends from the sidelines. 

As they headed backstage, everyone was in high spirits, although of course gutted that the strictly family shrunk again by one. It was getting harder and harder to see people go and it was obvious in the short interviews with the couples after an elimination took place that they all loved one another greatly. 

"Do you have to leave for the airport straight away, Motsi?" Craig asked. 

"I'm afraid I do," Motsi replied, as they stopped outside the dressing rooms. "Got a plane to Germany in two hours." 

"Are the rest of you guys still up for pizza..?" Bruno asked, as he switched on his phone for the first time in hours. He seemed to have become much more cheerful as the day progressed, and Motsi put that down to strictly. No matter how shit someone's personal life was, no matter how hard things were behind the scenes - strictly was a beautiful form of escapism. 

"Of course we are," Shirley nodded. "I'll just go get changed and then.. Bruno? Bruno, are you okay?" 

Bruno had frozen all of a sudden, his eyes widened in horror as he looked down as his phone. Looking up, he managed to stutter out, "Darcey sent me a message.. and I'm scared to reply.. I'm scared." 

Shirley snorted in disgust at the mention of Darcey and walked off to her own dressing room to get changed back into her regular clothes and take off her make up. 

"Hey, calm down," Motsi turned around from where she had been packing her stuff, walking over to her Italian friend. "What's wrong?" 

Bruno showed his three co-judges the message he had received, that had been sent just over an hour ago. 

Lover of that Pointless Game 😂🍭: Bruno.. as soon as you see this, can you message me back please? I'm afraid I've got some awful news to tell you. 

"Hey, it might not be as bad as you think," Motsi said comfortingly, although she knew that the word awful suggested otherwise. She had a sinking feeling that she already knew what Darcey wanted to tell Bruno.. or, at least, who it was about. "Text her back.. it may not be as bad as you think." 

With visibly trembling fingers, Bruno typed back a response. 

Bruno 🕺: I'm here.. what's going on?! 

"Bruno," Motsi asked in an attempt to calm her friend, "does Darcey's contact name refer to the show Pointless?" 

"No," Bruno managed to laugh, although it was a little forced. "I mean Candy Crush. Darcey absolutely loves that game, but I think it's a waste of time." 

"I love Candy Crush! Jorge's absolutely addicted to it," laughed Motsi, her laughter stopping as she saw Darcey come online and begin to type, wondering what on earth she had to say to her friend. 

Lover of that Pointless Game 😂🍭: Bruno. You told me earlier that Jason was working up in Manchester..? 

Bruno suddenly began to feel sick to the stomach, his instincts telling him what was happening. He had been lied to again.. by the man that he was supposed to trust with everything inside of him. Typing back another response, he stood there shakily, supported by Motsi who honestly no longer cared if she missed her flight. Bruno was more important than a flight to Germany - she could book another one for a few hours later if she did miss it, and she could get the train if that failed. There were always other options - she could work around it. 

Bruno 🕺: yeah 

Lover of that Pointless Game 😂🍭: well, he isn't. 

Lover of that Pointless Game 😂🍭: I'm so sorry, Bruno.. I wish I didn't have to tell you this 

Lover of that Pointless Game 😂🍭: I'm afraid you've been lied to. 

Bruno's heart went cold as he tried to think about how to reply. 

Bruno 🕺: what..? How do you..? 

Lover of that Pointless Game 😂🍭: Angus took me out for dinner tonight, to celebrate his recent promotion at work. Turns out that Jason isn't in Manchester. He was eating in the same restaurant as me. 

Bruno 🕺: maybe he finished work a day early? Or something? Are you absolutely sure it was him? 

Lover of that Pointless Game 😂🍭: sure as sure can be. And Bruno.. that isn't even the worst part. 

Lover of that Pointless Game 😂🍭: I'm really really sorry to be telling you this 

Lover of that Pointless Game 😂🍭: but Jason's cheating on you. 

Lover of that Pointless Game 😂🍭: I saw him kiss the other man he was with, and trust me, it wasn't a platonic kiss. I'm honestly so sorry, Bruno... 

Motsi, who had been reading the texts over Bruno's shoulder, gasped out loud as she saw the final two come through. Over the weeks, it had crossed her mind that maybe Jason wasn't being faithful, but she had really hoped for Bruno's sake that it was juer something that she was reading into too much. 

Shirley and Craig, however, only had time to read half of the messages before Bruno fell apart, falling onto the ground, sobbing like they had never heard him sob before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY 😭😭
> 
> I REALLY AM SO SORRY 😭😭 
> 
> I really hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter, even if it was very sad!


	30. heartbroken

"I knew it," said Craig in disgust as Motsi got down on the floor with Bruno, holding him close as he sobbed. "I fucking knew he was no good."

"What's going on..?" Shirley came back out of her dressing room, all dressed in her normal clothes again, looking very concerned indeed. "Bruno..?" 

"Jason's been cheating on him," Motsi explained, and as she said those words, Bruno started sobbing harder. "That was what the message was about.." 

"Oh, so you're actually believing Darcey..? After everything she's done to us..?" Shirley said vehemently, glaring at them all. 

"Shirley, with all due respect, use your common sense. You know Darcey didn't mean what happened back in September, and you know she wouldn't lie about something as serious as Jason.." Craig trailed off before he said those words that would upset his best friend even more. 

Shirley didn't look entirely convinced, but she got down on the floor with Bruno and put her arm round him. 

"Come on, darling," she whispered. "Shall we go into your dressing room..?" 

Bruno couldn't stop sobbing as his friends helped him up and led him towards his dressing room. All at once, it was starting to make sense, and he hated himself for not seeing the signs sooner when they were so goddamn obvious. The time that he came to rehearsals and was on his phone the entire time, before making a swift exit. The times that he went up north for work - he had every suspicion now that Jason had never had a job up north in the first place. The disrespect he had shown in the last few weeks and the almost constant rudeness towards him. The fact he cancelled dates constantly. Everything was becoming so much more obvious now and he wished he had seen it sooner - maybe now, he wouldn't have been left so heartbroken, crying in the middle of the Elstree Studios corridor. 

"Sis, are you ready to go to the airport?" Oti came running down the corridor after them. "Bruno.. what's happened?" 

"I'll explain in a minute," replied Motsi, continuing to follow Craig, Shirley and Bruno. "Give me a minute.. " 

"Motsi, we need to leave now. If we don't leave you're going to miss your flight," Oti said firmly, and though she wanted more than anything to stay with Bruno and the others, she knew she had to get to Germany tonight. 

"Okay, okay. I'll just say goodbye." 

The South African beauty raced into the dressing room, where Bruno was slumped in the armchair sobbing, and quickly said goodbye to them all. Lastly, she gave Bruno a hug, and told him, "if you need anything this week, let me know. I might be in another country, but I'm always here for you, okay? Jason didn't deserve you.. you're such a kind hearted, warm, friendly person and he's the absolute opposite. Please don't ever let him make you believe otherwise." 

"Thanks.. thanks, Motsi," Bruno choked out through the sobs. 

Motsi headed to the car with Oti straight after that, not really wanting to be late for her flight, though she knew that there were other ways around it if she really did miss it. On the way to the airport, in between replying to messages from Jorge (who was absolutely screaming his head off over Michelle getting 36 points) and Joachim (who was in love with Saffron's beautiful waltz), she explained to Oti what had happened to Bruno backstage just now. 

Jorge 🕺: SHE WAS JUST SO AMAZING AND SHE ABSOLUTELY DESERVES TO GET THROUGH IF SHE DOESNT GET THROUGH IM SUING THE BRITISH PUBLIC FOR NOT UNDERSTANDING WHAT TALENT IS 

Jorge 🕺: AHHHHHHHHH 

Jorge 🕺: AND KELVIN OH MY GOD KELVIN WHAT EVEN WAS THAT HE WAS SO GOOD IF HE DOESNT GET THROUGH ILL CRY PLEASE LET HIM GET THROUGH PLEASE I CANT DEAL WITH HIM NOT GETTING THROUGH

Motsi told her younger sister everything, from the time that Jason visited in rehearsals and left five minutes later to the time that Bruno went on the date from hell with him. By the end of her story, Oti was shaking her head and saying, "I did think there was something up with that man, but I didn't want to say anything because I could see how in love Bruno was with him. I hope that's the end for them... because Bruno deserves so much better than that." 

"He really does. Hopefully now, Jason will stay out of his life forever," Motsi crossed her fingers for her friend. "Now for some positive stuff. Jorge absolutely loved your dance.." 

"Oh, of course he did," laughed Oti, "I'm so glad that he did though." 

"And he said that if you don't get through, he will cry," Motsi chuckled at Jorge's all-caps message. "What dance are you doing at Blackpool? Jorge will want to know." 

"We have the jive to Jailhouse Rock," Oti replied with a smile on her face as she ran her fingers through her hair, "and I can't wait to teach him it. Most of all I'm just grateful for the chance to dance another week with Kelvin, because I genuinely adore being his teacher." 

"I'm so excited for Blackpool. It feels like years since I've been. And I feel like it means so much to so many of us! Shirley told me she always gets emotional when she goes there and I know it means a lot to you." 

"Yeah, it does," nodded Oti, with a wistful smile. "What day are you coming?" 

"To Blackpool?" Oti nodded her head again. "Friday evening." 

"I wish you luck with the tour this week as well! How was last week..?" 

"It was fantastic! And Joachim and Roman are finally friends," Motsi chuckled. "Jorge can finally be in the same room as Roman without screaming with laughter and you know, he even offered to give Roman a makeover the other night." 

"Please tell me Roman accepted..." 

"He did! And by the end, he had eyeliner on, his hair gelled, and a massive headpiece on. Then Jorge begged Joachim to let him give him a makeover, but Joachim said absolutely not." 

"Typical Joachim," Oti laughed, fully able to imagine these scenes. 

.. 

"Hola, chica!" Jorge cried, as he gave Motsi a huge hug at the airport a couple of hours later. "Llambi here actually got himself out of bed!" 

"Good work, Joachim," laughed Motsi, giving Joachim a hug as well. "Thank you both for coming to meet me." 

"You're more than welcome, chica," Jorge grinned, taking her luggage from her before beginning to walk towards the car, ahead of both Motsi and Joachim. 

"Don't tell Jorge.. but Michelle was in the bottom two tonight," Motsi hissed to Joachim, as they headed after Jorge. 

"Did she make it through?" 

"Yep, she beat Mike in the dance off. Sad to see him go, but he took it well." 

"Well, I'm glad that she got through. I'm not prepared for Jorge's reaction when he finds out though!" 

"Don't tell him and let him find out when we watch the results show together," Motsi suggested with a wink, and Joachim thought this a very good idea indeed. 

Getting into the car together, they headed back to the hotel where they were staying. The show last night had gone extremely well - Roman had actually proved himself to be very good in his role - and now they had travelled to a new city for the next three shows. The drive back to their new hotel took an hour, but Jorge spent the entire time singing along to songs on the radio, and Joachim spent the entire time trying to sleep but failing because of Jorge's raucous singing. 

"So, how was tonight?" Jorge questioned, as they drove. "I can't actually get over how amazing Michelle and Kelvin were! They better be through to next week."

"It was an eventful night, to say the least," replied Motsi. "Some shit went down backstage." 

"I bet it was that Jason that did something, wasn't it?" Joachim guessed immediately, looking very angry indeed. "What did he do this time..?" 

"You can say that again. It turns out he's been cheating on Bruno all this time," replied Motsi, thinking back to how heartbroken Bruno had looked and wanting to cry. 

"What the actual fuck?! That's disgusting," Joachim said vehemently - to him, cheating was the worst thing someone could ever do. "The poor guy... he deserves way better than that!" 

"That's vile," Jorge agreed, parking the car in the parking space he had rented out and helping Motsi with her luggage. "Is he okay..?" 

"He's heartbroken," replied Motsi, as they walked up to the entrance of the hotel. "Absolutely heartbroken. And it's so sad to see." 

"Send him my love," Joachim said, as they went through the revolving doors. 

Motsi smiled. "Of course I will! We could always call him tomorrow or something, if he's up for it... I'm sure he would be up for it." 

Jorge nodded, "that could be a good idea. After our show maybe?" 

"Sounds good to me," Motsi confirmed, and Joachim nodded, as they got into the lift all together and made their way up to their room. 

.. 

Usually, when Bruno went home after the show on Saturday night, he would go straight to bed to get some rest before his flight to Los Angeles. But tonight, he sat down on his sofa, and prepared himself for a call with Jason. He didn't care that it was almost 1 in the morning - he had to have it out with him now, even though he would have much preferred to do this face to face. 

He pressed call on Jason's contact, then waited with bated breath for him to answer. Jason himself picked up within two rings, not looking amused at all. 

"What? Bruno, for the love of god.. its 1 in the morning!" 

"I know everything," Bruno replied coldly, trying to stop himself from crying. "I know absolutely everything." 

"What on earth are you talking about? Because I have no idea.." 

"You know bloody well what I'm talking about!" Bruno tried to stop himself from shouting at him. "Darcey told me everything. You've been cheating on me." 

"What?" Jason laughed. "I've never cheated on anyone! Your friend is lying through her teeth because she's jealous of how wonderful our relationship is!" 

"Darcey has never, in all the years I've known her, lied to me!" Bruno shouted, suddenly losing it. "She may be a lot of things, and we may have had our differences earlier this year, but she has never lied to me and I know for a fact she never would! So why don't you just admit that you cheated on me rather than lying through your teeth? Because I'd have a lot more respect for you if you did!" 

"Fine, I'll admit it," Jason sighed, rolling his eyes. "If you really must know, Reno and I have been dating since September." 

"Reno?" At first, Bruno didn't recall the name, but then he remembered back to the start of strictly, when Jason had picked him up to go on a romantic "date"... 

Playing video games at Reno's house. 

"You are kidding me, right..? That time that we went to your friend Reno's house, on that date that couldn't even be called a date, you were in a relationship with him? So you were basically on a date with him?" 

"Yes, we were together at that point. We hadn't had sex or anything, but yeah.. we were in a relationship. I'm sorry, Bruno, but you need to understand my point of view as well as yours. I was lonely, I was frustrated, I was missing you. No offence, but you're literally never here." 

"Well.." Bruno began, "why not just tell me that you didn't want a long distance relationship with somebody! Rather than make me fall in love with you, then break my heart!" 

He paused once more. 

"You disgust me. Look, I'm so fucking sorry that I wasn't good enough for you. And I hope you understand that I can't come back from this. This is the end for us, Jason. Goodbye." 

And with that, he terminated the call, unable to bear talking to that man anymore. Heading upstairs to his bedroom, he burst into sobs again as he saw Jason's stuff still there - his plushies of Mister Mistoffelees and the Rum Tum Tugger; his posters of musicals; his shirts and clothes that hadn't been tidied away.

And wishing like hell in his heart that it was just a bad dream, but knowing full well in his head that it was reality, Bruno fell onto the bed and lay there, fully clothed still, crying his eyes out until exhaustion took over and he finally fell asleep. 

.. 

"NO! WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK? HOW IS MICHELLE IN THE DANCE OFF?" Jorge screamed, almost flinging a slice of margarita pizza at the TV in his shock. 

Motsi, Roman and Joachim exchanged amused looks, having known that this would be the Cuban dancer's reaction when he found out that Michelle had been in the bottom two. After a full-on day with a matinee and an evening show, they were finally getting to chill out, relax, and watch the strictly results show. They had ordered pizza and were all having a little slumber party - quiet of course, seeing as they were shattered and obviously, because they were in a hotel. Roman was staying in a room on the next floor, but in a way Motsi would never have expected before this month, Joachim had invited him to their room to watch. 

"Jorge, look, I get you're upset, but can you please lower your voice..?" Joachim hissed from his bed the opposite side of the room, although he too looked very shocked at what had just happened. 

"This can't be right! How the hell can you get 36 and be in the bottom two?!" Jorge exclaimed, a few decibels quieter. 

"The same way that people have landed in the dance off after a perfect score on Let's Dance," replied Joachim. 

"All the same, it's madness," Roman shook his head, taking another slice of pepperoni pizza. They had ordered three big pizzas and were sharing them between them - one chicken and sweetcorn, one pepperoni, one four cheese, and one margarita. 

"She had better get through," Jorge said, his eyes flashing as he stuffed a pizza crust in his mouth. "I love Mike, but seriously, Michelle needs to get through over him." 

Whilst the two couples danced again and Jorge and Joachim watched with bated breath, Motsi posted the video she had taken of Jorge's reaction to Michelle being in the bottom two, adding a translation as she knew that a lot of her followers and friends didn't speak German like she did. She also sent it to Oti privately, but without the translation. Within a few minutes, she received many comments on the post, and a reply from her sister, and they all had found it highly amusing. 

Oti my sister ☺❤: typical Jorge !!! But.. I think he summed up all of our thoughts there !!! 😂😂😂😂😂

"And for that reason, I'm going to save Michelle and Giovanni," Bruno said, and Tess announced, "so that means we are going to have to say goodbye to Mike and Katya!" 

"No disrespect to Mike because I genuinely really like him, but - thank fuck," Jorge breathed a sigh of relief. "I do not want to see Michelle and Giovanni in the bottom two again! My word, I wish I could vote. Roman, who would you vote for if you had the ability to vote from Germany?" 

"I love Michelle and Giovanni, I really do," replied Roman, "but for me, it would be Karim and Amy. Karim is honestly just so talented." 

"He is!" Joachim agreed with a nod. 

"Okay, is that the first time that Joachim Llambi and Roman Frieling have ever agreed on something?" Motsi teased her friends, turning off the TV. 

"Actually, Roman and I found common ground the other night," Joachim replied, looking over at Roman with a grin. "Turns out he loves golf." 

That wasn't something Motsi had expected. "Do you actually?" 

"Yeah! I love golf." Roman took the last piece of pepperoni pizza and began eating it. 

"Joachim once tried to teach me how to play golf. To cut a long story short, the day ended early and I think he was tempted to knock me out with the golf club," Jorge laughed. 

"I'm sorry, Jorge, but you were quite frankly pathetic," Joachim replied, rolling his eyes. "My daughter was only like 10 at the time, and even she was better. I also once decided it would be a good idea, Roman, to take Jorge to tennis with my daughter, my wife, and I. To cut another long story short, he was terrible, and us Llambis all took great pleasure in laughing at him over how terrible he was." 

Jorge pretended to look hurt. "You were beastly to me that day. All of you." 

"Well, you can't tell me we were wrong," Joachim laughed, reaching over and patting his friend on the back. "My word, that was good pizza." 

"It was! We should definitely hang out like this more often," Motsi nodded, grinning at her three friends. 

"Definitely!" Jorge agreed enthusiastically. "I love spending time with you guys." 

"And I do too. Even you, Roman," Joachim winked at the man he had once not been so friendly with, and they all laughed out loud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry about the Bruno bits 😭😭 I almost cried writing them. I did try and get some friendship moments between Motsi, Joachim, Jorge and Roman though, so I hope that balanced it out. 
> 
> Next chapter sees a new character introduced, and I'm really excited for it ;) two new characters are coming into the story over the next few chapters, and I'm so excited to reveal! Who do you think they'll be..? 😁
> 
> Small clue: I've never written about either of them before. 
> 
> I'll hopefully post the next chapter soon. Get ready for some introductions and also some tears. 
> 
> See you in the next chapter ;) stay safe, stay happy, and stay tuned!! ❤


	31. the same name

If there was ever a way Bruno expected to be spending his Tuesday night, it wasn't sitting in the corner of a restaurant in Los Angeles, tears running down his face as he strolled through his photos of him and Jason together. 

He had just been so sure.. so sure that Jason Gardiner was the one. After waiting over sixty years and having so many failed relationships, he had wondered for a moment if maybe Jason would be the one that he was meant to find. The first few weeks he had been convinced that Jason was that one - and the happiness he had felt was off the scale. But now.. not even a few months later, he was feeling even more despondent than ever before about his love life. 

Bruno wasn't someone who needed other people to survive - much as he acted like the biggest social butterfly on TV, he was actually a quiet person off camera who loved his own space and going on holidays by himself. But much as he loved being alone.. when he looked at his friends who had long-term partners or were even married, he couldn't help but feel sad and jealous.

Shirley had Danny, and Bruno had never seen her that happy before. He had never liked Corky at all - he had found him to be too full of himself and found that he didn't treat Shirley the way a beautiful woman like she was deserved to be treated - but he loved Danny. He was everything that Corky wasn't - he was down to earth, kind, and all he wanted was for Shirley to be happy. Then Craig had Jonathan. Intelligent, down to earth, hilarious and very loving, Jonathan was the perfect partner for Craig and Bruno was so happy for his friend. After Damon had treated him terribly, and so had other previous partners, Bruno couldn't be happier that Craig had found that special somebody. Darcey had Angus, who she had had a turbulent relationship with but was now very happy with, and though Motsi was currently single, she was young and had all the time in the world to find somebody. Bruno was over sixty, and what really were the chances of him finding the love of his life now..? 

Giovanna Rossetti.. beautiful, intelligent and Italian. The woman that Bruno had, at the time, actually considered having children with. But five years after they met, Bruno found out that she was cheating on him, and that had ended that. Victor Bradshaw.. a DJ, who he had only lasted two years with before becoming aware of Victor's infidelity. Jason Gardiner.. seemingly kind, caring and faithful. But his true colours had shone through and now, just six months after meeting him, their relationship was broken beyond repair. There was an obvious pattern there.. everyone he ever loved cheated on him and left him for someone they found to be better. Bruno was a fairly confident person, but it was hard to feel, in this situation, as though he was good enough. As though there wasn't something seriously wrong with him that was offputting to so many people. Was it because he was a celebrity? Or was it because he just wasn't good enough as a person? There had to be a reason why everyone treated him this way, and why he could never have even a small bit of the love and happiness his friends had... 

"Hey.. are you okay?" 

Upon looking up, Bruno came face to face with a guy, an extremely good-looking guy with bright blue eyes, sandy-coloured hair and chiselled cheekbones, who looked so similar to Jason it was actually uncanny. Just add a few more years to this man's age and take a few inches off his height and he could definitely pass for Jason's brother. The man looked extremely concerned, and as he sat down next to Bruno, the Italian started crying even harder. 

"What's wrong?" he questioned, in a rich American accent. "I saw you crying.. so I thought I'd come see what's wrong. I hate seeing anybody cry.." 

"It's a long story," Bruno replied, fiercely wiping his eyes. 

"Well, I've got time." 

Bruno couldn't help but be taken aback by this man's compassion and obvious desire to help, and it was because of this that he began to explain the reason why he was sitting here in the state that he was in right now. 

"Basically... I found out my partner cheated on me on Saturday night, and I just feel like such an idiot for trusting him and as though I'm not good enough because literally every partner I've ever had cheated on me.." a few more tears escaped from his eyes. 

"I'm so sorry," the younger man said softly. "I get the feeling, you know? I recently broke up with my boyfriend of six years because he cheated on me as well." 

"Did you..?" 

"Yeah, I did. Found out he had two other men on the go. So I totally get how you're feeling right now." 

Taken aback by the man's compassion, he said, "I'm so sorry." 

"Don't apologise. It's not like it was your fault," the man replied, with a light chuckle. 

"My partner cheating on me was most definitely my fault," Bruno snorted, resting his head on the tabletop. "It always is. He basically told me that.. said that my work abroad was affecting us and that he cheated because I was never there." 

"Well then, he's an idiot and should have just said off the bat that he didn't want a long distance relationship," was the reply. "If you really love someone, you make it work. That's just how it goes." 

"Funny how none of my previous relationships have ever wanted to try and make it work," snorted Bruno again, unable to stop talking now he had started. "Everyone I've ever dated has either cheated on me or run for their lives without warning. I'm starting to think there's something wrong with me, to be honest." 

"No, the problem lies with them. Always with them. You.. what exactly is your name?" 

"Bruno." 

"Bruno," repeated the man, not seeming to recognise the name in any way or put two and two together, which the Italian was most relieved about, "this is definitely not your fault. You've done nothing wrong. If there's one thing I can assure you, it's that you're far too good for all these people that you've been dating. And I'm sure that some day, you'll find the person you were meant to find, who will never even dream of being with somebody else when they are with you." 

"I highly doubt it, but thank you," Bruno replied, touched by the man's unprovoked speech, but still doubting every word he had just spoken. 

"Can I buy you a drink..?" the man asked suddenly, after a short silence that fell over both of them sitting there. "You look like you need one.." 

"Um.... yes, that would be lovely, thank you," replied Bruno shakily, getting some money out of his wallet and handing it to the man. The American handed it back, however, refusing to accept any payment as he went over to the relatively silent bar to order a glass of red wine for himself, and a glass of white wine for Bruno. Coming back with both drinks in hand, he handed one to Bruno, before sitting back down next to him, sipping his own. 

"What's your name..?" Bruno asked suddenly, after a few moments of silence. 

"My name's Jason," replied the man, making Bruno's jaw drop. He had been unable to get over how much this man resembled the man that Bruno had broken up with just a couple of days ago, and now he was finding out that the two men shared the same name. "Jason Schanne." 

"Are you serious..?" Bruno cried. 

"Yeah.. why wouldn't I be serious..?" Jason looked rather confused, but there was an amused expression upon his face. 

"You just look so much like J- someone I know, who is also called Jason," Bruno replied, realising that openly comparing this man to his unfaithful ex-partner maybe wasn't the nicest of comparisons. 

"Oh, really?" Jason laughed. "That's funny. But I'm serious, Bruno.. whoever this man is that cheated on you, he definitely doesn't deserve you. So don't go blaming yourself for it, because it's not your fault." 

.. 

Twenty four hours later, and Bruno hadn't stopped thinking about Jason Schanne. 

After they finished their drink, he had gone, needing to get home on account of an important meeting he had the next day. He had left Bruno feeling so touched by his kindness and just a tiny bit better, and now, almost a day later, the Italian was sitting in his apartment alone, thinking about how lovely that man had been to him. 

He hadn't stopped thinking about Jason Gardiner either - that was somebody he was not easily going to forget. Everything seemed to remind Bruno of him - even this apartment. He couldn't help but think about his plans to one day potentially ask Jason to come and live with him here outside of strictly time, share this apartment with somebody for the first time ever. He couldn't lie - he did sometimes get lonely in this apartment. Though Len lived just two doors down from him, and popped over all the time, Bruno did at times long for somebody to share the apartment with, wake up next to in the morning and go to bed with at night. And now, he didn't feel as though that was ever going to happen. 

To distract himself from thinking about the musical-loving gentleman whose career was something admirable, Bruno logged onto Instagram. He found his fingers typing out the name of the man who had comforted him in that restaurant last night, trying to find him, wanting to give him a proper thank you now he was in a slightly better headspace than he had been, and wanting to ask him something. He just hoped that he used social media, that he wasn't one of those who was never active. 

He found Jason fairly quickly - after all, Schanne was not a common last name. His profile was full of photos of him on holidays, soaking up the sun on the beach, and there were also lots of photos of him and his cat. 

Taking a deep breath, he typed out a message, hoping to goodness that Jason saw it. 

TheRealBrunoTonioli: hey.. I just wanted to say thank you for looking after me last night whilst I was upset, it really touched me how you really seemed to care. Thank you x

Bruno put down his phone, not expecting a quick reply, but less than five minutes later it beeped. Picking it up, the Italian couldn't help but smile at the sweet reply. 

Jason_Schanne: you're welcome! I hate to see anyone upset, and I really hope I could make you feel a little better. 

TheRealBrunoTonioli: you definitely did, thank you. I was wondering... and I know this might seem a bit sudden.. but can I buy you dinner to say thank you properly? 

He was fully aware this was a bit of a bold move, especially as they had literally only met yesterday and this was only their second conversation. He just felt so incredibly grateful to this man for being so lovely yesterday - and wanted to repay him, even if he only repaid him through a simple dinner together. 

Jason_Schanne: you don't have to repay me, honestly! I just did what I would do for anyone who was upset! But dinner does sound good. 

Bruno smiled for the first time in several days, before typing back. 

TheRealBrunoTonioli: do you know where Dancing with the Stars is filmed..? 

Jason_Schanne: I have no idea, sorry. I'm not a TV person 😂😂

TheRealBrunoTonioli: well, just ten minutes from there, there's this lovely Italian restaurant that I ADORE. We could always try there..? I'm flying to England tomorrow, but we could always do next Sunday..? That's when I'm back here again.. 

Jason_Schanne: I'm not fussy. Sounds good to me! 

TheRealBrunoTonioli: I'll send you the address, if you like. 

Jason_Schanne: that would be amazing, thank you so much !

With that, Bruno sent the address across to Jason, who said that he would meet him there at 7.30 on Sunday, then he sat back in his chair, a smile actually lingering on his face.

And inside, as he turned on the TV to at least have some noise in the quieter than quiet apartment, he couldn't wait for Sunday evening.


	32. the blackpool tower

Travelling up to Blackpool was always so much fun. The whole strictly cast went together by train and the atmosphere inside the carriages was just so positive - it truly was one of the best parts of the series for everyone involved. And now it was Motsi's first Blackpool with the cast, and she couldn't have been more excited about it. 

She had flown home from Germany on Thursday night, promising to send Joachim and Jorge lots of photos from her time in the seaside town, and now it was Friday and everyone was waiting at the train station with their luggage. Motsi was sitting with her fellow judges, laughing with Craig and Shirley about much Shirley had overpacked for their weekend, it reminding her so much of Jorge. At the same time, however, the south African beauty was keeping a close eye on Bruno, who still seemed very fragile after everything that happened the weekend before. He definitely wasn't his usual happy self, and Motsi knew that that was all thanks to Jason and the way that he had so cruelly betrayed him. 

"Are you guys ready for Blackpool?" Giovanni came walking over to the little group, Michelle close behind him, their luggage with them. 

"Of course!" Shirley nodded, grinning widely. "Blackpool is such a wonderful place, and us judges cannot wait to see your street commercial." 

"We've taken a massive risk with it, and I only hope you'll like it," Michelle confessed. "And hopefully this week, the two of us can avoid the dance off." 

"Jorge's praying you get through," Motsi laughed, tying her hair back once more. 

"Sorry?" 

"Oh! My friend, Jorge Gonzalez, who judges on Let's Dance in Germany with me, just adores your partnership. He almost cried when you almost got eliminated last week, and said that it was totally unfair that you ended up in the dance off." 

"Bless him! I'm so glad that he's enjoying our journey - tell him I'll do my best to stay in the competition for him," Michelle smiled, "though I have a lot of competition in some of the other celebrities, like Kelvin and Karim..." 

"You'll be amazing, and I know you can beat your competition. I tell you week after week before we dance that you'll be fantastic and you always are fantastic," said Giovanni, with a smile of admiration directed at his partner. "And this dance is going to wow everyone when they see it. You've worked so hard in rehearsals this week." 

"Why, thank you, Gio," Michelle smiled, practically blushing at the praise. "I'm so excited to dance this week.. and I've never been to Blackpool before, so this is a first." 

After a few more moments talking about Blackpool and all they planned to do there - Michelle, Giovanni, Alex and Neil had already planned to go out for dinner together tonight and do some sightseeing - everyone began to get onto the train, which had just arrived. Jonathan, Bruno, Shirley and Craig found some seats near the back of the train, and after asking her friends if they would be terribly offended if she sat with Oti and not them, Motsi went and sat beside her sister, who was sitting alone. 

"This is so exciting, isn't it?" she attempted to make conversation. 

"Yeah.. I suppose it is." Oti didn't look at her, rather she stared out the window as the train began to move. 

"What's wrong, sis?" Motsi asked softly, wrapping her arm round her younger sister. "You can talk to me." 

"It doesn't matter. I'm fine." 

"Otlile Mabuse, I know you're not fine," Motsi replied firmly, and Oti knew that she was serious by the use of her full first name. Hardly anyone called her Otlile - purely due to the fact that most people couldn't pronounce it. When she was on let's dance a few years previously, they had had to use the abbreviation of her name as nobody could actually pronounce it. "So go on.. tell me what's up." 

"Kelvin's been really struggling with the dance this week," admitted Oti, reluctantly, still looking out the window and refusing to make eye contact with her sister. "And rehearsals have just been so stressful.. he just isn't getting it and I just feel like I'm letting him down because I can't seem to help him get it." 

"Oti, you're not letting him down," Motsi said firmly. "Look at me." Oti reluctantly turned round to look her in the eyes. "Some dances are going to be harder for your partners to get. And the jive is a very difficult dance for contestants to master." 

"I know.. and I don't expect him to dance every dance perfectly. That's unrealistic. I just really want to get him further in the competition and help him grow as a dancer, and this week it just feels like we've not made any progress." 

"There's still time," Motsi reminded her sister. "You've got tonight and tomorrow - you still have time for him to have a breakthrough. Hey, remember when you were dancing with Jonnie, and how he would often struggle with the dances right up until the live show..?" 

Oti nodded. Jonnie Peacock had been her third strictly partner and they had made it all the way to Blackpool. Oti was unbelievably proud of all of the men that she had partnered, be it on let's dance or on strictly, but Jonnie was somebody that she was even more proud of than usual because of the fact that he was an amputee. Using a prosthetic leg, Jonnie had faced challenges learning how to dance, and Oti had faced challenges adapting her choreography to suit his needs. However, he had really overcome all the adversities and performed some amazing routines. It was true wht Motsi said, though - very often, he would be struggling from Monday to Thursday with the routine and then, when they went to Elstree on the Friday to do a run through, he would suddenly just get it. Thinking back to that series, Oti hoped that this truly would be the case this week with her and Kelvin, although she still felt slightly doubtful. 

"Thank you, sis," she smiled. "I really appreciate you."   
"You're welcome," Motsi replied, smiling back at her.   
"Now, shall we talk about something more light hearted?" Oti suggested, "how about.. how was the tour this week..? Good..?" 

"It was great! Roman and Joachim are getting on so well and Jorge is just the same as ever," replied Motsi, which made Oti chuckle. "And that reminds me.. I need to tell Jorge some big news." 

"What's that?" Oti asked curiously, as Motsi took her phone out of her bag and clicked on her group chat with Joachim and Jorge, where three hours ago there had been some random conversation about something or another. Scrolling through the messages, she realised that they had been talking about whether the milk should go before the cereal or not, and 

Motsi 💃🏿: Jorgeeeeeee

Motsi 💃🏿: guess what ?!?! 

Jorge 🕺: DOES MICHELLE HAVE AUTOMATIC IMMUNITY FROM ELIMINATION?! 

Jorge 🕺: OR KELVIN?!?! 

Jorge 🕺: PLEASE TELL ME THAT'S THE NEWS 

Motsi 💃🏿: 😂😂 sorry to disappoint you Jorge, but no 😂😂

Motsi 💃🏿: but it is about Michelle ;) 

Jorge 🕺: do tell!!! 

Motsi 💃🏿: well, I told Michelle about how much you're loving her on the show - and she said that she's going to try really hard to stay in for you!!! 

Jorge 🕺: 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Jorge 🕺: THE BRITISH PUBLIC HAD BETTER VOTE HER 

Jorge 🕺: I WON'T HAVE HER IN THE BOTTOM TWO AGAIN 

Jorge 🕺 : 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

"Typical Jorge Gonzalez," laughed Oti, cheering up massively. "Do Joachim and Roman have favourites..?" 

"Roman loves Karim," replied Motsi with a smile, "and Joachim does too, although I think his absolute favourite is Kelvin. Jorge's favourites are obviously Michelle and Kelvin, and he also loved Catherine and Johannes.. he actually cried when they got eliminated, you know. According to Joachim, he watched the last speech that they both made with the tears running down his face." 

"I think we all did, to be fair! That speech definitely made me cry." 

"Same here, same here." 

.. 

On arrival in Blackpool a few hours later, it was dark outside and the whole strictly cast were met by hordes of paparazzi waiting to photograph them as they walked to their hotel. Walking along together, Motsi and Oti politely smiled for the cameras, though they really weren't in the mood for being photographed. They just wanted to go out with their friends, have some dinner, and then get ready for the long and exhausting (but of course fun) day that was going to be tomorrow. 

On arrival at their hotel, they all got checked in and were all given their room keys. Motsi was going to be in a room with Shirley and Danny, whilst Craig and Jonathan shared a room with Bruno. It transpired that Oti and Marius were going to be staying in the room right next to her room, which made Motsi smile. 

Oti, Marius, Motsi and Shirley got into the elevator and went up two floors to the floor that they were going to be staying on. With all their luggage in tow, the four of them walked down the corridor till they reached room 203, and Shirley unlocked the door so they could enter. 

"Where are you guys going to get food later..?" Marius asked, as Oti struggled with the door, trying to get it open. 

"We were thinking of going and getting fish and chips, actually." Shirley helped them get the door open before pushing her suitcase inside her room. "You'd be welcome to join us for dinner, if you would like..?" 

"Sounds great!" Oti nodded, and Marius agreed. "All right then, shall we meet you downstairs in like an hour..?" 

They agreed to meet downstairs in around an hour and half, and very quickly, they went into their rooms and got washed and dressed ready to go out. Whilst Motsi had a shower, Shirley, who was already ready, stepped onto the balcony and looked out into the night, her gaze fixed on a tall and illuminated building - the Blackpool Tower. Actually seeing that building in the flesh again, the one that meant so much to so many of the dancers on the show and the one where she had actually retired, made the Wallasey-born star feel a bit emotional. 

"Isn't it stunning?" Motsi breathed, putting her arm round her friend, all washed and ready to go out, looking stunning in a dark blue denim dress. 

"It sure is," Shirley replied in awe, wiping away the tears rolling down her cheeks. "I remember this place so well.. it was the place where I retired and it will always mean so much to me." 

"You retired here?" Shirley nodded. "What an incredible place to retire! I retired in a TV studio in Cologne - it was so special but Blackpool is another level." 

"Your retirement was so beautiful though, Motsi," Shirley praised the younger woman. "I cry every time." 

"Do you actually? It was such an emotional night for me," Motsi said reminiscently. 

"You were truly incredible! And the man with you was so talented too." 

"Evgenij?" Shirley nodded. "He was my dance partner for years. My real life partner for several years as well." 

"Really..?" 

"Yeah! We dated for five years. It wasn't long after I retired actually, that we broke up." 

"If you don't mind me asking," Shirley said, pulling on her leather jacket, "why did it end? Was it mutual or..?" 

"No.. he cheated. About six months after I retired, I found out that he - he hadn't retired yet, he was a few years younger than me so kept going - was cheating on me with his new dance partner. Someone six years younger than me and who he said was a lot prettier than me. So yeah... that ended." 

"I'm so sorry, Motsi! I never knew about this," Shirley put an arm round her friend. "And what this - how do you say his name again?" 

"Evgenij. He is Ukrainian." 

"This Evgenij said was absolutely vile, and so wrong. You're so beautiful, Motsi, and you were a truly amazing dancer - still are! Your dance on the launch show was incredible. Please tell me you don't believe what he said." 

"I used to," replied Motsi, with a nod, "but not so much now. I believed wholeheartedly what he said at the start, totally believed it was my fault... it broke my heart. Joachim and Jorge will tell you how much it affected me. But now, my confidence is higher than it's ever been." 

"I used to believe all the nasty things people said about me as well. Whenever I saw a hate comment online, I couldn't help but believe it. My first year on strictly, whilst magical in many ways, was so difficult because I was getting so much hate and it knocked my confidence lower than it had ever been before. My lowest point was week 7.. when Aston and Janette got voted off. I was getting so much hate, and I couldn't help but read it all - it was like an addiction, though it broke me I had to know what people were saying about me. Bruno kept on and on telling me not to, but I couldn't help myself. Things did get a little better after that, although there were still people that hated me and still do to this day, and I learned not to read it and to focus on those that made me feel good about myself. And I never let them change me - I managed to always stay true to myself and who I really am, and I'm really glad that I did that and didn't let the trolls make me change my image." 

Shirley's eyes were shining with tears again after that speech, and Motsi couldn't help but feel deeply sorry for the woman that had become a very close friend since she had secured the job on strictly. To think that the absolutely gorgeous woman before her, who was so sweet and loving and beautiful inside and out, would get so much hate from trolls, quite near broke her heart. 

"You know, Jorge got a lot of hate when he first joined Let's Dance," Motsi revealed. "Lots of people failed to understand him.. mainly because of his dress style. He wears clothes that he likes, rather than what society often says he should wear, and lots of people didn't understand why he came out with such weird looks every week. People were like - Why can't you dress normal like Joachim..? And I know it really upset him.. he always acts so confident, but I know it hurt him deep inside. I remember a few times I knocked on the door of his dressing room and he answered and I could tell he had been crying alone in there. I think the first time that he really let on how much it hurt was when he came in dressed for the show, and he was wearing an identical outfit to Joachim and was talking about how he was going to cut his hair short. He literally was going to change his image, become more conservative in the way he dresses, and it just about broke my heart because I adore what that man stands for! But now most people love him for who he is, and have grown to understand him, and he just blocks the people who are negative and make him feel bad. And he wears whatever the hell he likes and won't ever let anyone change him! And I really admire that quality in him.. you know. He really gives such positive messages about body image and I truly love that." 

"Jorge seems like such a lovely person, and personally, I think his style is amazing! I do hope we'll get to meet him some day," Shirley replied, though she smiled to herself secretly because she knew, like Bruno, Craig and basically everyone else at strictly except Motsi knew, that in just two weeks, Jorge and Joachim were going to be coming over to the UK to watch the show. 

"I'm sure you will! I don't think he will make it this series, but hopefully you'll get to meet both him and Joachim in the future." 

Shirley couldn't help but smile at Motsi being completely unaware that both men were coming to see her on Musicals Week. She knew that her reaction was going to be priceless, and she just couldn't wait to see how Motsi's best friends surprised her. 

"Good heavens, is that the time..?" the older woman gasped as she glanced down at her watch, realising that in two minutes time they were meant to be meeting Oti, Marius, Bruno, Craig and Jonathan downstairs to go for dinner. "Come on, Motsi! We need to go now." 

And with that, the two women pulled on their shoes and coats, headed out into the corridor, locked the door to their room behind them, and headed downstairs to meet the others for what would hopefully be a lovely evening meal.


	33. confessions

Motsi 💃🏿: guys we are here in blackpool !!!! I cant even tell you how beautiful it is, and we are having so much fun already - I'm out with Oti , Marius , and my fellow judges and Jonathan and we are eating fish and chips !!!! ❤❤

Joachim ⚀: glad you're having such a fantastic time!! Enjoy your evening!! 

Jorge 👠: chicaaaa I'm so glad you got there okay!! Have the best evening, I can't wait to hear about your time and to watch you on strictly tomorrow!! Love you ❤

Motsi couldn't help but feel so happy as she sat there in the Blackpool fish and chip restaurant they had chosen that evening. She was so lucky - she had the best friends, both in Germany and in the UK, and a job that made her so insanely happy. And right now, as she sat around the table with her sister, her brother in law, and some of her best friends, she didn't stop laughing and giggling the entire time. 

It was a very cheerful atmosphere overall, but there was one person at the table who just didn't seem to be with it at all - Bruno. He sat there the entire time silent, only speaking when he was spoken to, and his answers always being monosyllabic. Motsi knew how hard he must be finding it - especially at a table where, apart from herself, everyone was with their partners. Oti was with Marius, Craig had Jonathan, and Danny arrived not long after they did, so Shirley had her partner. It was literally just Motsi and Bruno that were alone - and even though she couldn't be any happier, the brokenhearted expression on Bruno's face almost brought Motsi to tears. 

Oti's dancing progress with Kelvin was not mentioned once throughout the dinner. Instead, they talked about other things, like Let's Dance, the excitement of the tour and how Roman, Jorge and Joachim had all been getting on, and the upcoming pantos that Shirley, Danny, and Craig were in. Motsi didn't know it then, but the night that she was coming to see their shows, which were the opening nights and were two nights one after the other, Jorge and Joachim would be coming too. It had been Craig that had helped book their tickets, and he planned to keep the fact he had done that completely secret from Motsi until the day that the two men turned up to surprise her. 

"Craig was actually the person who got me into panto," Shirley explained to Motsi, "he said one day that I'd be really good at it and I decided to give it a go. And now I'm so glad I did, because I earned myself a passion for acting, some friends for life, and the best boyfriend I ever could have asked for." 

At this point Danny, who was sitting beside her, leaned over and the two of them shared a kiss, which caused Bruno to look even more heartbroken. Motsi leaned over and patted the Italian's hand, and though she found it adorable that Shirley and Danny were so loved-up, she hoped that they would be a little more tactful of Bruno. Oti and Marius seemed to have realised how affected Bruno still was by the infidelity, for they toned down their affection massively, and so did Craig and Jonathan. 

"I'd love to give panto a go one year," Motsi beamed, "it looks so much fun." 

"I think you would be great at it too, darling! Maybe next year you should give it a go," Craig smiled across at her, his eyes twinkling. "Hey, guys, you know what being in here is reminding me of..?" 

"No?" Everyone looked mildly confused. 

"A few years ago, I did a show called Pie Tennis." 

"You had to use pies as tennis balls?" 

"Good gracious, no! Basically, we played a game where we had to - okay, imagine the category was "parts of the human body" . That was one of mine by the way. You would have to keep on saying things, like finger or neck, and if you repeated a word or didn't have anything to say, you would lose the round. You got a pie to the face if you lost, or you could forfeit.. I forfeited." 

"Okay, that makes sense, but why does that game remind you of here..?" 

"Oh! I did a round where the topic was "things you might find in a fish and chip shop - excluding fish or chips" and I lost because I repeated ketchup twice," laughed Craig. "As a forfeit, the host had to tweet something from my Twitter account." 

"And what did he tweet..?" Motsi laughed.

"He tweeted that Simon Cowell had asked me to join the X Factor as a judge, and that I said yes," replied Craig. "It's still on there now." 

At that moment, their food was brought to them, and they all began to tuck in hungrily to the fish and chips and the bread and butter. As they ate and chatted every now and again, Motsi continued to keep a close eye on Bruno, making sure that he was okay, and ready to be there for him if he wasn't. He actually held up really well as they ate, and it was only after they had all finished eating that he got emotional, having seen a photo of Jason online, a photo of him and his new partner. 

Bruno's replacement. 

Motsi watched Bruno leave the restaurant in tears, her heart breaking for him. It broke her heart that he had been made to feel so unhappy recently, and all she wanted to do was wave a magic wand and make him smile again.

In just a matter of weeks, she had become so close with her strictly co-judges, almost as close as she was with Joachim and Jorge, whom she had known for years now - she had known Joachim almost for two decades now, which she could hardly believe. They had met quite by chance when their flights back to Germany were delayed, and Motsi had come across Joachim, who was having quite the argument with his then-wife over the telephone as this seven hour flight delay would mean that Joachim would miss her birthday party. Having realised that Motsi had inadvertently overheard the argument, he had turned round and said, "sorry, I'm not usually like this, she was being utterly unreasonable there", and they had ended up chatting for several hours while they waited for their flight. About five years later, they had met again on Let's Dance, Joachim now a dedicated family man with a new wife and a stepdaughter he considered his real daughter, and Motsi a few years older with a new professional dance partner named Evgenij. And after the initial surprise at seeing one another again and now being expected to work alongside each other, they had become the extremely close friends that they were today. 

And Motsi had been friends with Jorge now for almost seven years, since that day that they met for the first time at Let's Dance and instantly, as friends, clicked. Jorge had walked into the building full of confidence and excitement for this new adventure to begin, and Motsi had instantly warmed to him - how couldn't she? 

Though Bruno was the strictly judge that she probably talked to and knew least, she still cared about him so much, and it actually astounded her that somebody could sleep at night knowing that they had made him this goddamn heartbroken. Mumbling a quick apology to everyone the table, she got up and followed the Italian outside, hoping that he hadn't gone far, wanting to talk to him about something that she hadn't spoken to many people about. Namely, Evgenij's infidelity and the way that it affected her when she found out about it. Shirley had been about the only person she had spoken to about it in years, the only other people being her family, and of course, Joachim and Jorge, who had helped her through it so much and made her realise that she was worth way more than what Evgenij made her feel. 

Bruno hadn't gone far, it turned out - he was sitting on a bench about 100 metres away from the restaurant, sobbing quietly, hating himself for being so upset about it still. It had been a week since he found out about it, and he was still crying over it and letting it get to him as much as it was - and he just felt so weak.

And plus, he knew that Jason wasn't sitting there thinking about him constantly. Bruno probably hadn't crossed the Australian's mind in days. 

So why couldn't he just forget that he and Jason Gardiner were ever a thing? 

"You don't need to sit out here with me," he insisted, as he saw Motsi approaching. "You go back in there and be with your sister and with your friends.. you don't need to worry about me... pathetic me who can't just forget Jason." 

"Of course you can't forget him. You loved him.. and that's not something that's going to go away in less than seven days." Motsi sat down next to him and put an arm around him, bracing herself for the conversation that she was about to have. 

"You know, when I was cheated on, I didn't stop crying about it for weeks." 

The words didn't seem to register in Bruno's brain initially, it taking a few moments before he croaked out, "you were cheated on..?!" 

"Yes, I was. For a long time, I dated my dance partner, Evgenij... have you ever seen my retirement dance on Let's Dance..?" 

Bruno shook his head. "Shirley and Craig have spoken about it but I've never actually seen it myself." 

"I'll send it to you at some point." Motsi had never actually watched her retirement dance back, knowing full well that it would make her cry. Even thinking about th emotional rollercoaster that that night was had the power to make her well up. 

"Anyway, I dated my dance partner, Evgenij, for years. We had what I thought was a fantastic relationship and I at first honestly thought it would last forever. I thought we would get married, have children together.. that never happened. 

"It all started going downhill after I retired. In 2014, I decided that I would retire having had a career that made me happier than you'll ever imagine and brought me so many wonderful things. So I, as an an emotional wreck, retired during the semi final of the 2014 series of Let's Dance. I did a rumba to My Immortal with Evgenij, and it was honestly so emotional. I was in tears the entire dance, couldn't stop crying after it was over. But it was after I retired that things began to go downhill.. Evgenij is several years younger than me, and so he wanted to continue dancing for longer.

"He got himself a new dance partner, a young and beautiful blonde woman.. and it was six months after I retired that I found out the truth about them. It was similar to the way you found out about Jason, now I think about it... it was actually Joachim who called me one day to say that Evgenij was actually out with his dance partner, on a date, rather than visiting his mum like I thought he was." Motsi gave a laugh, but not a happy laugh, rather one of pure bitterness and sadness. "So that ended like that.. and the reasons he gave me for cheating were that his dance partner was much prettier and a much better person than I ever was, and made him happier than I ever did.

"I can honestly tell you that this knocked my confidence so much. Joachim and Jorge will tell you any day that I was so low for weeks and weeks, my confidence was shot to pieces and I just couldn't help wondering what was wrong with me and whether, if I'd done something differently, maybe I might have stopped him from cheating. If I'd not retired, would he have had the opportunity to cheat..?" Tears began to slip down her face silently. "Trust me, I didn't get over it easily. And to be honest, it's only because of the unfailing support of all my family and Joachim and Jorge that I did get over it and get my confidence back, to the level that it's at now. They helped me get over it and realise that I was better off without him. 

"Bruno.. " and here she turned to the Italian, continuing to make the impassioned speech she never even knew she had in her, "it's been a week since you found out that you got cheated on. You can't be expected to be fine this early on. You loved Jason so much.. I could see that, so could everybody who knew you. It was evident how much you adored him, how much you wanted things to work out. Anyone could see that.. I could see it, Craig could see it, they've not even met you yet and Joachim and Jorge could see it. So please don't be hard on yourself for not being over it yet, because it's been such a short amount of time." 

She slipped her arms around him and cuddled him close, letting him cry into her chest like Joachim and Jorge had let her do so many times in the past. 

"I'm sorry you had to go through it as well," he wept. 

"Don't be sorry, it's not your fault. I'm in a much better place than I was then, and I finally got back my confidence, thanks to the amazing people around me. And that's only grown with strictly." 

She hugged him tighter. "And some day, Bruno, you'll find someone who will love you and cherish you the way you deserve. It won't be Jason Gardiner.. but there is someone out there who will treat you exactly the way you deserve... and one day you will find them, I just know it." 

"Thank you, Motsi," Bruno said in a choking voice. "Thank you so much." 

"You don't need to thank me for just telling the truth," replied Motsi. "Now, do you want to go back in there with the others, or do you want to go back to the hotel..? I'll come with you back to the hotel if you want to go back there.. I'll understand." 

"No.. Motsi, you go back in there with the others, and I'll walk myself back to the hotel," Bruno replied firmly. "I've already ruined your evening.. I don't want to ruin it more." 

"Bruno, you haven't ruined my evening," insisted Motsi, even more firmly. "Not in the slightest. Now, stay here. I'm going to go and tell the others that I'm coming back to the hotel with you.. it's not like we are going to be going clubbing or anything, Bruno, Oti has to dance tomorrow, and we all have to judge. We've practically finished our meals anyway.. so I'm not missing out." 

And before Bruno could put in another argument, the south African beauty had gone back inside the fish and chip shop. 

"Guys," she said, as she gathered up her handbag, "I'm going to go back to the hotel with Bruno." 

"Is he okay..?" Shirley asked. 

"I think he just needs some time back at the hotel," replied Motsi, with a small smile. "I hope you don't mind me leaving but I'm going to-" 

"Of course we don't mind. I'll be going back to the hotel soon anyways after I've finished this drink... I've got a very busy day tomorrow," Oti laughed, and everyone agreed. Saturdays were always busy days for those at strictly, with barely a moment to sit down and take a breather but at Blackpool it was even more intensely busy and nobody wanted to be sleep deprived. 

"That's literally what I just said to Bruno," Motsi chuckled. "Okay, guys, I'll see you in the morning. Thank you for the most lovely evening!" 

With that, she headed back outside, where Bruno was waiting, having calmed down significantly now but still looking really upset. 

"Come on then. Let's go back to the hotel," she smiled at him comfortingly, and the two friends began to walk back to the hotel together, Motsi with her arm around Bruno protectively. 

"Motsi..?" 

"Yeah..?" 

"Thank you for telling me your story tonight. You know, about you and.. what was his name again..?" 

Motsi laughed - hardly anyone could remember or pronounce correctly her ex's name. 

"First off, you're more than welcome. And secondly, it's pronounced Evgenij. It's a common Russian and Ukrainian name." 

"Thank you for telling me the story about you and Evgenij. And I'm honestly so sorry that you've experienced a similar situation to me. You didn't deserve that." 

"You don't need to apologise," replied Motsi, "it wasn't your fault." 

"But still..." Bruno sighed, as they arrived back at their lodgings, immediately heading up the stairs to their rooms. "I'm sorry." 

They said nothing else until they arrived outside Craig, Bruno and Jonathan's room. 

"Well... I guess I'll go to sleep ahead of tomorrow," Bruno said sadly, heading into the room after unlocking the door with his key. "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow - 8.30 in the hotel restaurant for breakfast..?" 

Motsi nodded. "Sounds good. Sleep well, Bruno, and remember.. don't be so hard on yourself. You can't be expected to be over it this quickly." 

Bruno simply nodded wearily before closing the door and lying down on his bed fully clothed, sleep coming quickly to his exhausted body. When Jonathan and Craig came back just over half an hour later, the Italian was fast asleep, simply glad that the night was over at what felt like long last. 

And when Shirley and Danny got back to their room at the same time, Motsi was also fast asleep, exhausted as well after a night where she had made confessions that she hadn't planned on making.


	34. special

Funnily enough, Craig and Bruno's least favourite part of going to Blackpool annually was Shirley and almost everyone else's favourite part. 

Going up the Blackpool Tower certainly provided a gorgeous view of the famous seaside town, but Craig and Bruno could hardly bear to look out at it, both having a bad fear of heights. Every year the producers wanted to film some judges videos for the results show, and it was typical that almost every year, at least part of those videos had to be filmed at the very top of the Blackpool Tower. 

"I don't like this," Craig, who was standing in a corner of the lift with his eyes closed, remarked. "I really don't like this." 

"Hey, we're fine," Jonathan reassured him, an arm around him. "We're going to be fine. We can film your bit, and then we'll go inside the ballroom and you won't have to worry any more." 

Filming went smoothly, although they had to do several takes due to small errors that were made. In one, Motsi forgot her words and burst out laughing, and filming had to be suspended for five minutes whilst she laughed over her faux pas. In the VT, Motsi, Shirley, Bruno and Craig had to have a small, scripted discussion about Blackpool and what it meant to everyone to come. There had been all sorts of VTs at Blackpool featuring the judges over the years. One year Darcey, Craig and Len came up the Tower and had to look over the edge at Bruno who was sitting down at the bottom on solid ground, something that caused Craig massive anxiety. One year, they rode through the streets of Blackpool in a carriage, and another year, last year, Craig had to be dragged away from his waxwork. Back in 2018 Craig had a waxwork of him placed in the famous Madame Tussauds and he had, in the VT, been asked to stand admiring it and tightening it's bow tie before Darcey had to come and remove him from the premises as the show was about to start. They were just lighthearted videos that could be used as fillers in Sunday night's results show, and they were very enjoyable to film, even if they did often take place at the top of a very tall building and cause Craig anxiety. 

After they finished filming, the four of them, arm-in-arm, headed inside the Tower and into the Ballroom, all of them stopping in their tracks for a moment. Blackpool just had this effect on everyone, it was just such a special place that no matter how many times they would visit, it would never stop being emotional and special. Motsi to her right noticed that Shirley was welling up, memories of her time dancing on the floor coming back as she took in her surroundings, and even Craig was speechless. 

"This is just such a special place for me," Shirley breathed, quietly dabbing her eyes with a tissue. "It'll never stop being special." 

"Blackpool holds so many memories for all of us," Oti came up behind them with Dianne and Amy. "For example, before I even get into my competitive career, this was the place where I got my first perfect score on strictly! I remember being so nervous that day and so worried things wouldn't go well.. and then Danny and I ended up with a perfect score." 

"I'll never forget," Motsi smiled - when she had heard the news she had been so unbelievably proud of her sister and had almost burst into tears in the middle of a restaurant she was out at with Joachim. 

"And the first time I danced here with a partner, I got my first tens!" Dianne chimed in, referring to her quickstep with Joe, which had scored 10s from two of the judges. 

"And this is my first Blackpool with a partner! I narrowly missed out last series," Amy also chipped in. She had been in the group dances last year, but she had danced with Danny John-Jules, who had been eliminated literally the week before Blackpool. The year before, her first year, she had been eliminated in week five with Brian and so therefore also hadn't performed with a partner in the Blackpool special that year either. "And I'm super excited to dance with Karim tonight. He's been working so hard in training and our Charleston is really coming along." 

"It's truly such a special place," Oti finished, before turning to look at her sister, who had just let out a derisive snort. "Motsi? What's going on?" 

"The papers really write such shit, don't they?" Motsi laughed a little too loudly as she turmed her phone around so that the others could all read the article that she had just been sent by Jorge, who had seen it whilst drinking his morning smoothie. 

"That is ridiculous," Oti snorted, as she too read the article, her eyes quickly scanning the words that had been written by none other than the Sun. 

The article, in its simplest form, was about the bias that Motsi was so blatantly showing towards her sister and how she was meeting her after rehearsals and behind the scenes to give her tips, which was unfair to the other couples. It was just so untrue, so ludicrous, that Motsi couldn't help but see the funny side. 

"You weren't biased towards me in Germany. You aren't biased towards me in England. If you were, then you'd be giving Kelvin and me tens every week! And besides, did I win in Germany? No, I did not!" the younger of the two Mabuse sisters insisted, referring to her time on Let's Dance, when she came fifth with singer Daniel and was eliminated second with comedian Niels, who caused extreme controversy in his short stint on the show. 

"Exactly. These people are just wanting to make a story out of nothing. It's so desperate. I personally find it hilarious." 

"If you win, Oti, it'll be because of Kelvin's considerable talent and your fantastic teaching skills, and not bias from your sister," Dianne said, as if that settled the matter. 

"Exactly. My advice is never to listen to these stupid articles - like remember when the media said that Darcey and Shirley.." Craig realised what he was about to say and stopped dead in his tracks. 

What he had been going to refer to were the articles that were published at the start of the 2017 series about how Shirley and Darcey hated each other's guts, and scoff at how ridiculous the claims were for the two women shared such a beautiful friendship. But their friendship wasn't something that was existent any more. Shirley was still acting very frostily towards Darcey, refusing to believe that that interview was fabricated and that really she still wanted to be friends, no matter what anyone else said. It saddened Craig, for Shirley and Darcey had been so close up till September, always chatting and laughing together backstage. They had shared dressing rooms at one point and had always had the best of fun, laughing away together and enjoying tea together and having girly chats that they didn't feel like they could have with anyone else. And of all the judges, Craig strongly believed that it was Shirley who was most affected by the former prima ballerina's departure. So it truly saddened him that they were no longer friends and he could have kicked himself for not thinking before he spoke. 

"That we hated one another, and that we weren't on good terms?" Shirley finished his sentence for him, a certain glint in her eye that he didn't like. "Well, fast forward three years and those articles are fucking right." 

"Shir-" 

"Please don't give me an impassioned speech on why I should feel inclined to forgive Darcey. Because it'll go in one ear and then straight out the other." 

And with that, she walked off by herself, leaving the rest of the group behind, and as Craig stared after her, he wished more than anything that he had thought about what he was going to say before he actually said it. 

.. 

"I have a surprise for you," Kelvin told his dance partner, as the two of them stood backstage waiting to go on. Everyone was tense, more tense than they had been all series - at Blackpool, mistakes were simply not acceptable. Blackpool was a place where all the dances, everything had to be perfect. 

"When we walk out there, I want you to look up at the VIP section, okay?" 

"What for?" Oti questioned, wondering why Kelvin was making this request. 

"Because you might just be surprised," Kelvin replied with a twinkle in his eye, before beginning to dance some of the steps from his routine, determined that he would not mess up tonight. Not only was he dancing in the famous Blackpool Tower tonight, but he was dancing in front of his grandmother, and Oti's mum and godmother, who had never been to see the show before and had never even been able to watch a full episode from their home in south Africa. There was never any room for mistakes in strictly - everyone was acutely aware that one small mistake could cause their strictly journey to come to an end - but tonight there was even less room for mistakes. And whilst Kelvin couldn't help but feel under pressure, it was just making him even more determined that he was going to, when out on the floor, dance for his life. 

Oti looked at him confusedly, wondering what he was referring to. Who would be up there in the VIP section for her..? What was he talking about..? The only people that crossed her mind were Joachim and Jorge, but she felt it couldn't possibly be them. They had already said they were coming on musicals week, which was still a fortnight away, and besides, them coming to the live shows was more for Motsi, seeing as they were her best friends. Oti was close with Joachim and closer with Jorge but she knew the main reason they were coming to the UK for strictly was to watch Motsi, not her. 

She simply couldn't guess. So when she looked up at the VIP section on her way down the glittery staircase with Kelvin a few minutes later, her name being announced by Alan Dedicoat, the voice over, she was beyond shocked to see her mum and her godmother sitting there, looking down at the two Mabuse sisters with so much pride.

"I knew how much you and Motsi wanted your mum to see you on strictly.. so I flew her and your godmother out to the UK," Kelvin whispered into Oti's ear, and the professional dancer immediately burst into tears, realising that her dance partner was behind this, feeling so lucky to be partnering somebody as kindhearted and thoughtful as Kelvin was. Looking over at the judging desk, Craig had just pointed the two guests out to Motsi, and she too was in tears, Shirley's arm around her, unable to stop smiling. 

The two sisters beamed at one another through their tears before the first couple to dance was announced, and wiping her eyes extremely carefully so that her beautifully applied make up for the night wouldn't get ruined, Oti vowed to dance better tonight with Kelvin than she ever had done before on the show. 

"Thank you," she whispered, "so much." 

"You never need to thank me. It was the least I could do." 

Before Kelvin and Oti performed their jive, both were exceedingly nervous. But when they actually stepped out on the floor, it was like a lightbulb switched on in Kelvin's head and he suddenly remembered every single step and how to execute them. He performed with so much power and energy that Oti was stunned how far he had come since their last rehearsals. As the Elvis song ended, Oti started cheering and jumping up and down, so proud of her partner for performing his best yet. 

3 10s. 3 10s. Thirty nine points. Oti and Kelvin couldn't stop jumping up and down, Motsi was beyond proud, and Dudu and Oti's godmother were practically beside themselves up in the VIP section. And Motsi knew that Jorge was going to go absolutely wild when he saw the dance - she could see his reaction now. 

That night, the standard was unbelievably high. Oti and Kelvin were top of the leaderboard with Karim and Amy, who also got 39, only Craig failing to give them a 10. Their dynamic Charleston brought the house down. Michelle and Giovanni were bottom of the leaderboard, which Motsi knew Jorge would be really annoyed about, but sadly their dance just failed to hit the mark. Whilst it was a dance that had a lot of meaning to Michelle and many of the people watching both in the studio and at home, Motsi knew that the street commercial to Vogue just wouldn't be understood by everyone or liked by everyone. And she had this feeling that this might just be the end of Michelle and Giovanni's strictly journey. 

There was absolute pandemonium and excitement in the Tower after Emma and Anton danced, for they got two tens from Shirley and Bruno - Anton's first ever tens. After fifteen years, and seventeen series, and many partners who would go down in history, he had finally got a ten from one of the judges. His reaction was genuinely priceless and there wasn't a single person in the tower that night who wasn't thrilled for the both of them. 

Alex and Neil's pasodoble scored 34, a dance to a Beyonce song, and Motsi couldn't help but be proud. She knew she was supposed to remain impartial, but she couldn't help but feel pride in her. Back in week four, when she had danced the tango that had failed to impress, Motsi had wondered if her exit was imminent. Now in week nine, she was still in the competition, dancing amazingly and improving her skills every week - and she expressed this pride in Alex when it was time to give her critique. Then there was another big improver, that being Chris. His salsa scored 33, 20 points higher than he had received in week 1, and once again Motsi couldn't help but feel pride. She was proud of them all, a proud mum, every single week. She knew how nerve wracking it was to get out onto that floor and dance week after week, and just the fact they managed it was truly incredible. And then there was Saffron and AJ's quickstep. The dance, set to the song Marvellous Party by Beverley Knight, was classic and had a 1920's feel, and whilst it wasn't the best dance of the night it was still great, receiving 35 points from the judges. 

In the interval, whilst Craig went to see Jonathan (taking Bruno with him) and Shirley (who was no longer angry from earlier, but was still a little off with Craig) went off to talk to Danny, Oti and Motsi found one another and headed upstairs to the VIP section, unable to believe that their mum was actually there watching them. It was the very first time that Dudu had seen Oti dance live with a partner, and one of the only times that she had seen Motsi live as a judge, and that made it unbelievably special. 

When they got up to the VIP section, both women ran over to their mum and hugged her so tightly, tears filling their eyes once more as she expressed her immense pride in the both of them. 

"I honestly had no idea this was going to happen!" Oti explained through tears, as she hugged her godmother as well, so emotional. 

"You can thank your partner for that," Dudu replied with a smile, nodding at Kelvin, who was standing watching the reunion rather shyly. "He was the one who arranged all of this and had the idea in the first place." 

"Thank you so much, honestly, Kelvin," Oti gave her partner another hug, "I don't know how we will ever repay you.." 

"I don't want you to repay me in any way. As I said, it was the least I could do," Kelvin replied firmly. 

"We honestly appreciate this so much, Kelvin," Motsi chimed in, "and I'm just sorry that I can't stay on and spend time with you, Mum. Sadly, I have a flight to Germany to catch not long after the results are filmed." 

"Not to worry about that, Motsi. You'll be seeing her again soon," replied Kelvin. 

"What do you mean..?" Motsi furrowed her eyebrows. 

"I've already arranged to fly your mum out again for the final," Kelvin replied, stopping himself from revealing that Jorge would be there too. "No matter if we get there or not. I'm hoping I'll be good enough to get you there, Oti, but.." 

"Kelvin. You can't.. I can't let you.." 

"Otlile," Kelvin interrupted her, actually pronouncing her full first name much more accurately than most other people had in the past, "it's nothing. Trust me, it's nothing. I know just how much it means to you to have your mum there in the audience, and if we get to the final I know how much it will mean to you then, and I'm more than happy to pay for a flight. I insist." 

Oti said nothing, just hugged her partner once more, unable to believe how lucky she was to dance with somebody who was so generous, thoughtful and kind-hearted. 

After talking with Dudu and Elizabeth (Oti's godmother) for a while longer, they all retook their positions for the results show. Michelle found herself in the bottom two for the second week running, and as soon as it was revealed that she was going to be against Saffron, Motsi knew. She knew that Michelle was more than likely going to be going home tonight, due to a risk that just didn't pay off, and she was not looking forward to Jorge finding out. 

The dance off went just as she had expected, and much as she adored the concept of Michelle's dance and wanted to save her, Motsi knew she had to go for the better dancer and the more technical dance. It was a unanimous vote, and although none of them wanted to make a decision, they knew they had to. Craig struggled with his decision, Bruno did too, and Motsi could tell Shirley was super relieved that she didn't actually have to vote, even though she was still asked who she would have put through to the next week by Tess. 

Saying goodbye to the Drag Race judge was the hardest thing, and Motsi found herself welling up with tears as Michelle and Giovanni made their speeches. It was always so sad to see a couple go, especially when she knew that it was just one weaker dance and that they would come back strong next week. Motsi had definitely predicted Michelle for the final and the fact that her strictly journey was ending so prematurely was just the saddest thing. 

Before Motsi got in the car with Oti to go to the airport, she went up to the Star Bar and sought out Michelle, who was sitting having a drink with many of the other cast members. 

"I'm so sorry to see you go," she said, giving the American woman a hug. "You've been absolutely amazing ever since the first week." 

"It's honestly fine, Motsi. It's a competition, somebody has to go each week, and this week that person was me," replied Michelle without even a hint of bitterness in her tone. She was upset about being eliminated, obviously, but she was so proud of all the others and so happy they had got through. "We took a risk and it just didn't pay off. I'm more sorry for Giovanni, to be honest." 

"You don't have to be sorry. You've been incredible and I've absolutely loved every second of dancing with you," Giovanni replied, with a smile, laying his hand on hers. "As I said back out on the floor, your commitment, work ethic and positive attitude have made you an absolute joy to work with every week, and I'm so proud of what you've achieved." 

"Thank you so much, Gio. And I've loved every minute of dancing with you - I couldn't have asked for a better teacher," Michelle smiled. "I'm also sorry that I couldn't make it further for your friend," she turned to Motsi once more. 

"Jorge? Oh, he'll be fine, don't worry," Motsi chuckled. "I know he's going to have loved your dance tonight. He loves Vogue." 

"Don't we all?" 

"So true. Now, I'm really sorry, guys, but I'm going to have to leave. I have a flight to catch to Germany for the last week of the let's dance tour. I'll see you at the final, Michelle.. and thank you once again for being amazing." 

.. 

"What's the bet that Jorge has lost his mind over Michelle and Kelvin?" Oti asked with an amused expression, as they drove to the airport. "Mum, Jorge's reactions to our dances each week have been the absolute best." 

"His favourites this series have been Catherine, Kelvin and Michelle," Motsi told her mum, who was sitting in the back seat with Oti's godmother, having come to wave her older daughter off on her flight. "His reactions get better and better each week. He literally cried when Cath got voted off, and I have a feeling he will need emotional support when he watches the results show tomorrow." 

"That's Jorge for you," chuckled Dudu - who genuinely adored Jorge. Jorge was like a son to her - from the moment she had met him, she had absolutely loved the Cuban with the special style and the positive, bubbly personality. "Send my love to him. And Joachim." She also adored Joachim - she admittedly had spent more time with Jorge than Joachim, but she loved the German-Spaniard as well and just loved how much he cared about and supported Motsi (and Oti). 

"Oh, he has," chuckled Motsi, as she opened the groupchat she had with Joachim and Jorge, as she always did after a show on Saturday nights. "They get better and better." 

Joachim ⚀: I cannot express how not okay Jorge is right now.. 

Jorge 🕺: UNDERMARKED 

Jorge 🕺: I'M SORRY BUT MICHELLE WAS SO UNDERMARKED 

Jorge 🕺: EVERYONE BETTER VOTE FOR MICHELLE BECAUSE THAT DANCE WAS SO GOOD OKAY I UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE DIDNT UNDERSTAND IT BUT THAT WAS SO FUCKING COOL 

Jorge 🕺: ALSO KELVIN 

Jorge 🕺: OH MY GOSH THAT WAS PHENOMENAL THE MAN IS SO TALENTED AND OTI IS SUCH A BRILLIANT TEACHER 

Jorge 🕺: BUT CRAIG SHOULD HAVE USED HIS TEN PADDLE 

Jorge 🕺: THAT FULLY DESERVED TO BE THE FIRST 40 OF THE SERIES 

Jorge 🕺: OKAY I'LL STOP NOW BUT EVERYONE VOTE MICHELLE AND KELVIN, OH AND KARIM TOO BECAUSE THAT MAN IS TALENTED. GOODBYE. 

Joachim ⚀: tune in next week for another episode of "Jorge Loses His Mind". 

Joachim ⚀: but seriously, what a bloody fantastic show! I agreed with most of your scoring tonight too Motsi! 

"I would not like to break the news that Michelle has gone," Oti chuckled. 

Motsi 💃🏿: so you enjoyed it then Jorge ??? 😂😂😂

Motsi 💃🏿: and thank you SO much Joachim 😂😂😂

Motsi 💃🏿: GUESS WHAT 

Jorge 🕺: MICHELLE AND KELVIN ARE THROUGH?!?! 

Motsi 💃🏿: no, you'll have to wait I'm afraid Jorge 😂😂 guess who came to watch Oti and I tonight?! 

Jorge 🕺: no way!!!! 

Telling everyone to smile, Motsi snapped a quick photo of the four of them before sending it through to her two best friends. 

Motsi 💃🏿: *photo* 

Motsi 💃🏿: yes way !!! Kelvin flew my mum over and Oti's godmother ... I was so not expecting it !!!

Jorge 🕺: MOTSIIII I could not be happier for you my chica!! I'm so so happy!!! 

Joachim ⚀: what a week for them to come and see you!! I'm so happy for you, Motsi!! ❤

Jorge 🕺: say hi from us both!! 

"Jorge and Joachim say hi," Motsi smiled, as she climbed out the car at the airport with her luggage. "Right, Mum, I'm sorry I couldn't stay, but I'm needed in Germany right now to judge with the boys. I'll be seeing you at the final." 

"You will," Dudu replied, as Motsi leaned in through the back seat and hugged both her and Elizabeth. "Thank you so much for tonight. You've made me the proudest mum ever, both of you." 

"I love you, Mum." 

"And I love you too, Motshegetsi. So much." 

After one last goodbye, and after telling her sister how proud she was of her, Motsi headed into the terminal to catch her flight, still buzzing over the events of tonight. 

And as she sat down in Subway, deciding to have a quick sandwich before getting on the plane as she was beyond starving, she typed out a private message to Joachim. 

Motsi 💃🏿: um, so I think we need to get Jorge some emotional support for tomorrow night.. 

Joachim replied back almost immediately. 

Joachim ⚀: let me guess. Michelle has been eliminated? 

Motsi 💃🏿: right first time!

Joachim ⚀: I knew it from the second she got her scores. It was a great dance and I get why it means so much to lots of people (including our Jorgito) but it just wasn't as good as the other contestants tonight. She was in the bottom two last week and I just.. it was obvious. 

Joachim ⚀: either way, Jorge is definitely going to need that support tomorrow 😂

Motsi 💃🏿: he really is !! You, Roman and I will need to provide it for him !! I'll see you in a couple hours ❤

Joachim ⚀: I'll be at the airport. See you soon Motsi ❤ and congratulations on another amazing show ❤

Motsi 💃🏿: thank you so much Joachim !!! Love you ❤❤

Joachim ⚀: love you too Motsi.. see you soon! 

..


	35. five things

"And that means that we're going to have to say goodbye to Michelle and Giovanni!" 

Motsi, Roman, Jorge and Joachim were in a hotel room in Berlin together, watching the Strictly results show with pizza like they had done the previous week. And from where she was sitting, Motsi could tell that Jorge was getting emotional. 

"You okay, Jorge?" she looked over at him as Michelle said her goodbye speech, and Jorge gave no response, continuing to just stare straight at the TV.

Joachim, who was sitting closer to the Cuban, mouthed across at her "he's choked up." 

Putting down her slice of margarita pizza, the south African beauty got up from her bed and went to sit down next to Jorge. Slipping her arms around the taller Cuban, she noticed that the tears began to fall faster onto his lap. 

"I think we all felt like this last night," Motsi chuckled, hugging him as Michelle and Giovanni stepped onto the strictly dance floor for one last dance. "I won't lie, I almost cried, and you saw just how difficult the judges - especially Craig - found it to make that decision. Oh, Jorge." 

"It's weird because.. I expected it after the scores that they got last night, but it's still a shock for it to actually happen. I've been so sure she would go to the end.. I've had her down as a finalist since her first dance," Jorge fiercely wiped his eyes, Joachim coming to sit down on his other side. 

"I knew deep down that she would be going after the dance she did last night and after she was in the bottom two last week, but it's still a massive shock," agreed Joachim. "It just goes to show that one bad dance can be the end of your journey on these shows.. I mean, look at how many fantastic celebrities on Let's Dance have done one less memorable dance and that's been the end of their stint on the show!" 

"I just never expected to get so invested in this show," Jorge laughed, as he continued to brush away his tears, Motsi still hugging him tightly. "Okay, the main reason I watch it is to support my chica, and I probably wouldn't be as eager to watch it if she wasn't on the show, but now I'm actually invested in certain partnerships." 

"We just have to hope that Kelvin and Oti win now," Joachim chuckled, taking another slice of pepperoni pizza out the box. They had bought four pizzas to share between them - one Hawaiian (it turned out that Roman liked pineapple on pizza, something that Joachim was absolutely repulsed by), one margarita, one pepperoni, and one meat feast. "For the sake of our Jorgito." 

"If Kelvin and Karim could both win, that would be perfect," Roman chimed in from where he was sitting. "They should have two winners." 

"All of them should be winners in my eyes," Motsi responded. 

Joachim chuckled. "I know where you're coming from, Motsi, but not necessarily. I mean.. someone who gets 1s every week from me I don't think exactly deserves to win the show.." 

"You know what I mean! It takes so much guts to even just get out there on the floor, let alone be watched by millions of people, let alone be judged by people like ourselves. I have massive respect for them all." She squeezed Jorge's shoulders gently. "You okay?" 

"I'm fine, chica," Jorge chuckled, wiping the tears away from his eyes. "Don't worry." 

Lifting his head up, he grinned round at his friends. Jorge Gonzalez never stayed sad for very long - he was too much of a positive person for that, and his positivity, no matter the situation, was something that Motsi admired greatly. 

He literally lived by the motto When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. 

"All I can say now is.. Team Kelvin and Oti for the win!" 

... 

You're just too good to be true   
Can't take my eyes off you   
You feel like heaven to touch   
I want to hold you so much   
At long last love has arrived   
And I thank God I've arrived   
You're just too good to be true   
Can't take my eyes off you 

Singing the famous Frankie Valli hit as he got ready for bed on Tuesday night, Bruno couldn't help but feel a hint of sadness, despite the happiness he felt after his dinner with Jason Schanne. 

After Bruno's success singing Tu Vuo Fa L'Americano on the strictly tour at the start of the year, the producers had asked him whether or not he would consider singing on the live show one of the weeks. And, having received mostly very positive feedback from audiences, he had agreed. He was no professional singer, and would never claim to be one. He was aware that he was no Frankie Valli, and aware that Craig was the better singer on the judging panel. The Italian had had the pleasure of listening to Craig sing on a number of occasions, in several pantos and in Annie in the summer, and the man really was so talented, even if he made out in interviews that nobody knew he could sing. 

Bruno loved singing.. but singing this particular song was especially hard for him now, considering the events of the last few weeks. He had first been asked near the start of the series to do this, back at a time when he and Jason Gardiner were mostly happy together and he still felt that it was them both together for the long haul. But now he wasn't in love - no, that was a lie. He was still in love... even though Jason had done the unforgivable, he still loved him, and right now, he felt like he always would love him, no matter how much time went by. But he was no longer in a relationship, and he couldn't sing this song without feeling incredibly sad. Even now, alone in his Los Angeles apartment, it hurt even just to sing the opening lines. 

This past weekend had been very difficult, especially Friday night when they were all out having dinner in Blackpool together. Usually, he loved strictly weekends and everything about them, and going to Blackpool was one of the highlights of the series, but this weekend it had been extremely difficult to truly enjoy himself. To be honest, the only thing he had been excited for was dinner with Jason Schanne. 

And that couldn't have gone any better. 

He had been so nervous that the American would cancel on him, or that he wouldn't be as nice as he was when they first met, or that it would be awkward. But he was so wrong. They had had a lovely, two-hour meal together, with lots of conversation and quite a lot of laughter, and for the first time since Darcey sent him that text, Bruno had felt really happy. He was really embarrassed about having cried so much in the diner that first night they met, but he was almost glad that it had happened, for it had brought him a new friend. 

Though he had only spent two hours in his company tonight, and maybe an hour the first time they met, Bruno had already learned five key things about Jason Schanne. 

Number one - he loved cats. 

Not the extremely popular musical that his former boyfriend Jason had starred in and adored - the animal. He told Bruno many fond stories about his own feline companion - Prince, a Bengal cat with a love for tuna. 

"I adopted him from a shelter five years ago - I saw about him online and knew that he was the one for me. He had been dumped in the middle of nowhere with the rest of the litter.. and whilst all the others got rehomed, he never did. I have no idea why.. but I was instantly smitten. And now he's my best friend," Jason explained, as they tucked into their dinner in the far corner of the almost deserted restaurant. 

Number two - he was very into Fitness. 

"I actually work as a personal trainer," Jason revealed, when Bruno asked him what his occupation was. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." 

He then went on to tell Bruno about how he loved getting up at 5am and running along the beach for several kilometres, when hardly anyone was awake. This idea shocked Bruno, who was in no way, shape or form a morning person - whenever he went on the strictly tour, Darcey had always been the one that was awake early, bustling around the place, humming to herself as she got ready for the day. Or Len, who was always awake early to go and enjoy a round of golf - his favourite pastime. Motsi had chuckled when Bruno told her this a few weeks back and had joked "he and Joachim should really meet in that case!" Jason also very much enjoyed playing football and basketball, and apparently, he had been a very competent baseball player at school. 

"I was never that academic," he told Bruno, with a hint of embarrassment in his tone. "I left school with some grades, but they weren't exactly anything to be proud of. But something I always shone at was sports." 

Number three - he came from a massive family. 

"I have six sisters, two brothers, and many nieces and nephews," he laughed, as the conversation became more family-oriented. "The Schanne family is really big." 

"I'm the opposite," Bruno laughed, laughing for what felt like the first time in ages. "I was an only child.. and neither of my parents are with us any more. Nor are my grandparents. I have some cousins and aunties in Italy, but I wouldn't say I talk to them much.. I'm very much alone in the world." 

As soon as the last seven words had fallen from his lips, he cursed himself inwardly for letting himself sound so pathetic. So negative, in what was meant to be a light-hearted conversation about family. 

Was this why Jason Gardiner had cheated on him..? Was it because he was so much of a negative person that- 

"I'm so sorry to hear that" Jason said with sympathy evident in his tone, placing a hand on Bruno's. "I really am." 

"It's okay.. it wasn't your fault. And it was a long time ago now.. over two decades." 

"Yeah, it was two decades ago.. but I bet that it still hurts so much." 

Bruno nodded. It was true - years had passed, but losing a parent was something that he would never be over, no matter how much time went by. 

"If you ever want to talk about anything.. always feel free to talk to me," Jason said softly, and Bruno once again was overwhelmed by his kindness. 

"Thank you," he replied, taking a sip of his wine, taking advantage of the fact that he didn't need to drive tonight due to living within such close proximity to the restaurant they had chosen for dinner. "Thank you so much." 

Number four: he didn't like his full first name. 

"If I'm honest with you, Bruno.. very few people actually call me Jason. I go by it for work purposes, and my parents call me Jason.. but literally none of my friends call me Jason - unless I'm in serious trouble with them, which I try not to be very often." The American chuckled. 

"What do they call you?" 

"Jay. And I much prefer it, if I'm honest." 

Bruno almost preferred it too. Not that he disliked the name Jason - but at the moment, the name didn't exactly have positive connotations for him. 

"I'll call you Jay from now on, then." 

"Oh, thank you." Jay smiled his radiant smile. "Do you have any nicknames or anything that you prefer to go by..?" 

"I can't say I do," the Italian responded. "I've never really had a nickname to be honest." 

Number five - though he shared the same full first name as Bruno's ex, and in some ways looked startlingly like him, they were absolutely nothing alike. 

Jason Gardiner had lived for theatre. Jay very rarely saw any live theatre, although according to him, he didn't dislike it. "I just never really have much time," was his response, when Bruno questioned why, shocked by the revelation. Literally all of his friends adored theatre - but maybe that was because 90% of the people he associated himself with were in the theatre industry. Jason adored dancing and ice skating. Jay claimed to have "two left feet" and had never been ice skating in his life. Jason had usually talked about himself, and maybe asked the odd question to Bruno when he realised that he had been talking for way too long. Jay was more than happy to talk about himself, but the conversation was much more two-way; he asked Bruno plenty of questions about himself, and made sure to take a great interest in whatever the Italian told him. Jason enjoyed getting drunk. Jay admittedly enjoyed a drink, but knew his limits and hadn't been properly drunk since he was in his early 20s. 

They had a few very vague similarities- for instance, they were both very family oriented people - but considering the fact they shared the same name and looked so alike, the amount of differences was startling.

But if Bruno was honest.. he liked it that way. 

He liked that his new friend wasn't exactly like his ex boyfriend, who he was trying, at the moment, his hardest to forget. 

At that moment, his phone pinged, and he caught it up to see he had received a message from Jay. 

Jay 🐈: thank you for tonight mate, I had a great time! Do you want to have dinner again some time next week..? 

Bruno🎟: no can do I'm afraid. I'm in England all week - work. The week after though, I'm back in Los Angeles. 

Jay 🐈: no worries! We can always sort something out then. Thank you again for a wonderful night 😎

Bruno 🎟: you're welcome! Hope to see you soon x

As he switched off his phone, Bruno knew one more thing about Jay Schanne. 

And that was that dinner with him the week after next was what was going to get him through the next few days. 

..

Three weeks after it began, the Let's Dance tour was coming to an end.

And nobody was sadder to see it finish than Joachim. He had worked so hard for so many months on this tour, planning out everything that would happen, from the group dances to the funny scripted gags like Jorge holding up the wrong paddle (like he did all the way back in 2014). To see people enjoying the show so much and to read all the positive reviews online had honestly made the German-Spaniard so happy. And if that wasn't wonderful enough, he had been able to share in it with his best friends - Jorge, Motsi, and (though he never thought before this tour that he would call him one of his best friends) Roman. It had just been the best experience, and he was so sad to have to say goodbye to this show tonight. 

But at the same time, he was so excited for the next couple of weeks. He was looking forward to going home this weekend, and spending some quality time with his wife and stepdaughter, whom he had really missed on this tour. They FaceTimed most evenings, and they had come along to watch one of the earlier, weekend shows, but he missed them a lot. He was really looking forward to spending a few days of quality time with them, doing things as a family. He couldn't wait to do all the little things that he had missed doing this tour - like doing the school run and maybe going for a few rounds of golf. After all, he had promised Roman a game some time soon. He couldn't wait to get on a plane on Thursday, and spend Friday looking around London with Jorge (somewhere he had always wanted to visit but had never had the chance to) and then on Saturday, go to Elstree studios and surprise Motsi. He couldn't wait to go and see Motsi's colleagues, who made her so happy, performing in their respective pantos - and he couldn't wait to meet them and get to know them. And most of all, he couldn't wait to have some time off, to relax and rejuvenate himself before they began Let's Dance in February. 

He was so excited for it all.. but that still didn't stop the tears running down his face as everybody took their final bows, and he got called forward as the director of the first ever Let's Dance tour. 

As he stepped forward and took the bouquet of flowers being given to him by Daniel and Victoria (the hosts of the tour), he glanced over at the judging panel. Motsi, Jorge and Roman (for the first and only time on the tour, all four judges were judging) were on their feet, clapping and cheering, the pride evident on their faces. 

"Thank.. thank you," he said in a rather choked voice, taking the microphone in his free hand and starting to talk into it. "Wow.. what a tour this has been!" 

The audience went wild once again. 

"I.. when I agreed to direct this tour, I was slightly terrified. I didn't know what I'd let myself in for, and I didn't know whether people would like what I'd created. But people have written amazing reviews online, people have come up in the street and said how much they enjoyed it.. and that's honestly meant the world to me. So thank you. 

"But I couldn't have done this alone. I'd just like to say a big thank you to every single one of you who came - not just tonight, but to all the different tour dates. Thank you to the costume, hair and make up people, and all the people backstage who I don't think get nearly enough appreciation. Thank you to all of the celebrities for being amazing, both on the show and on the tour. Thank you for working so hard every day and for performing amazingly night after night. Thank you to the professionals for being incredible teachers, for teaching these celebrities to dance, and for pulling showstopping performances out of the bag. Thank you to our hosts, Daniel Hartwich and Victoria Swarovski. And last but not least - thank you to my fellow judges, whom I consider some of my closest friends. Thank you for supporting me, for assuring me that I really could direct this tour, for being so amazing at what you do, and for just being the best friends to me - yes, even you, Roman!" The audience laughed at that, some of them having watched Let's Dance for years and remembering just how Roman and Joachim had often disagreed and fallen out, especially following the whole fiasco with Thomas and the thoroughly undeserved ten. "Everyone, put your hands together for Jorge Gonzalez, Motsi Mabuse and Roman Frieling!" 

"And a massive thank you to our very own Joachim Llambi!" Motsi shouted, sturing to her friend, Jorge and Roman doing the exact same. 

As the audience gave one last round of applause before beginning to file out, Joachim couldn't have felt any happier. The tour had been a success. It had gone how he wanted bar a few small things that went wrong, and had brought joy to many people across Germany, old and young. 

And that was all he wanted. 

"I'm actually so proud of you, Llambi," Jorge declared, hugging his friend as soon as they were alone in the arena, the audiences having filed out, the other cast members having gone backstage. Joachim wanted a few more moments in the arena to look around and really take in the magnitude of what they had achieved. "You know that? I'm so proud of you." 

"Thank you so much!" Joachim wiped his eyes, beaming at his Cuban friend. "I'm honestly so emotional tonight." 

Joachim wasn't really an emotional person by nature. It took a really special dance on Let's Dance to make him cry - in fact, he could probably count on one hand the numbers of times he had found himself in tears on the show. In fact, two out of three times that he could remember off the top of his head, were over a dance that Mootsi did. One was her retirement dance, a moment forever etched in the minds of Let's Dance viewers, and he had had to fight so hard to hold back the tears. He still had no idea how he got through his speech about how grateful he was for what she had done for the dance community without the tears falling down his face. He just knew what it meant to her, what a moment it was in her life, and to be able to witness and share in that moment - even in a small way - had meant a lot to the German-Spaniard. The second was a fast-paced dance to the Gloria Estefan hit Conga, almost two years after the retirement dance everyone knew so well. It wasn't the dance itself that made him cry - the dance itself was fun, happy, and featured Motsi, Jorge and several of the pro dancers (including Oti). The thing that made him cry was seeing Motsi confident again, happy again, enjoying every second of dancing. After everything with Evgenij, her spirit had been broken, her self-confidence on the floor, and that was the first time that she really displayed confidence in herself again. Seeing someone who was once one of the most confident people he knew so unsure of herself and so lacking in self-esteem had been one of the most heartbreaking things he had ever had to witness, and that dance to Conga was the turning point, the moment he really felt that she believed in herself again. He was proud of Jorge that night, amazed by his talent and his own confidence and charisma. 

But he was even prouder of Motsi. 

He wasn't emotional by nature.. and yet tonight, he was literally crying.

"I'm not surprised! You should be so proud of yourself, and if you're not proud of yourself, then be proud of yourself, because you are amazing," Motsi told him. 

"And you should be so proud of yourselves too! You-" 

"We turned up each evening, and gave some critiques to couples and danced a little for the audiences. Yes, I'm proud of us, but you're the one that deserves all the appreciation and all the recognition. We wouldn't have had this tour without you." 

"Thanks, Roman," Joachim smiled at the judge that he had a few weeks ago not liked much at all. "I really appreciate that." 

"It's been an amazing few weeks," Jorge commented, as they made their way backstage to get changed and get ready to leave. "So much has happened! I mean.. not just on the stage.. offstage as well! Like Llambi becoming friends with Roman.." 

"And like you being able to actually be in the same room as Roman without laughing," shot back Joachim, playfully. "I must admit.. Roman.." 

"What?" His colleague eyed him curiously. 

"You weren't as bad as Harald in terms of scoring." 

"I'll take that as a compliment," Roman laughed, thinking back to his days as a permanent fixture on the Let's Dance panel and the series where he, Motsi and Joachim judged alongside Harald Glööckler, a German fashion designer who always appeared on the show wearing outfits with rhinestones and glitter and a lot of jewellery. Harald had frequently been very generous with his scores, often scoring several points higher than Joachim. Joachim often felt frustrated by the scores of both Roman and Harald, and sometimes Maite as well when she joined. It just felt as though they weren't actually judging the dance, but giving scores based on how entertaining it was. It also often felt as though they were deliberately marking contestants higher in order to annoy him - for there was no way a dance that received 1 point from him should receive 6 or 7 points from another judge. 

"Right, I need to get to the airport," Motsi announced a few moments later, once they had changed into their everyday clothes and collected up all their stuff. "Jorge, are you still okay to drive me?" 

"Of course, my chica!" 

"I would come along, but I've got a long drive home ahead of me," Joachim said in rather a regretful tone, giving Motsi a hug. "Goodbye, Motsi. I'll see you when you're next in Germany, okay? We'll have to do something together shortly after Christmas." 

He wanted more than anything to tell her about what would be happening next Saturday, but he couldn't say anything. He didn't want to ruin the surprise - he was so looking forward to seeing her face when he and Jorge turned up shortly before the show. They had it all planned out with the other judges and Oti, and her reaction was something they were greatly anticipating. 

"Yes, we definitely should plan something! I'll see you soon, Joachim. Love you.. thank you for an amazing tour." 

"I love you too. And thank you for being part of it and being so supportive of me! I've had the best time touring with you." 

"It's been lovely to see you again, Motsi," Roman came forward to hug her goodbye. 

"Same to you! Hopefully we'll see each other again soon." 

"Oh, you will, seeing as Joachim and Roman are golf best friends now," Jorge replied in a dry tone. "Now come on, else I won't get you to the airport on time." 

"Bye, guys! Thanks for an amazing tour" Motsi waved as she followed her Cuban friend out the back door, still buzzing from the wonderful night they had had.


	36. can't take my eyes off you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note before we get into the chapter: 
> 
> In this story, I've decided to add judges team dances to musicals week, the week that in this, Joachim and Jorge are coming to watch Motsi together. So for the sake of there being able to be six of them.. Saffron has been given a bye in this chapter to the next week due to being too unwell to perform. 
> 
> Hope that you guys don't mind this being a bit different to real life. 
> 
> Enjoy the chapter!!

Bruno was standing on a podium on the strictly dance floor, waiting for the music to begin. Around him, the professionals stood with pink feather boas, ready to dance. The time had come at last for Bruno to make his singing debut on the show - well, if singing one line in the song There's No Business Like Show Business five years ago didn't count. 

It had taken so much for him to even go through with this. Backstage earlier, he had been so close to saying that he didn't want to sing or put himself through this. But he went through with it for two reasons. Firstly, he didn't want to let the fans he did have down and secondly, Motsi had persuaded him to go up there and be strong and sing. They had had a talk backstage, him and the oldest Mabuse sister, and she had talked him into doing this, into having confidence in himself and his singing ability. So that was why he was currently standing on the podium, the pros huddled around him, getting ready to sing his heart out. 

The music began after the opening titles played, and taking a deep breath, willing himself not to cry, Bruno lifted the microphone closer to his mouth and began to sing. 

You're just too good to be true   
Can't take my eyes off you   
You feel like heaven to touch   
I want to hold you so much   
At long last love has arrived   
And I thank God I'm alive   
You're just too good to be true   
Can't take my eyes off you 

The song wasn't exactly easy for him to get through, but he got through it, trying to look like he was having all the fun in the world for the sake of the audiences. That was something you had to do in this business - smile even when you weren't fine. For Bruno, no matter how low he was feeling, making the audiences happy would always be the top priority. It wasn't the same circumstances by any stretch of the imagination, but he remembered when Craig had performed night after night in pantomime a few years back, despite the fact that everything in his personal life was crumbling. His dad had passed away, his boyfriend was far from supportive of him in this time, and he was unable to return to his home country for the funeral because he had to continue performing. Though he was heartbroken, he still got up there every night and gave the audiences a show, and that was what Bruno was doing tonight. He might still be heartbroken, but he was going to give the audiences a show. 

All the same, he was glad when the performance was finally over and he could go backstage again, ready to walk out with his co-judges. The audiences went wild as the song ended, everyone seeming to have enjoyed it. When he arrived backstage, Motsi was the first to hug the Italian, telling him "I'm so proud of you! You were amazing!" Everyone else was quick to congratulate him on a great performance too, showing just what supportive people they all were. That was something Motsi had learned very quickly when she forayed into the TV world and became a judge on Let's Dance.. literally everyone was so supportive. If one person was sad, everyone else was there for them to comfort them and lift them up. If one person got some good news, then everyone else shared in it and they were always genuinely happy for that person. Motsi would never forget the reactions of her colleagues on let's dance when she had received the call to tell her that she had got the job on strictly. The hug that Jorge gave her, that nearly knocked her off her feet. The chant that he started up, and the way he had taken to social media as soon as the news came out to everyone to tell the world just how proud he was of his chica. The way that Joachim had become emotional, telling her over and over just how proud he was of her. The way all the pros had lifted her into the air, along with the celebrities, whilst cheering loudly. It was literally like being part of a big, beautiful family where everyone had the utmost respect and love for each other - and Motsi just loved that. 

Once the congratulations were over, the judges made their way onto the floor, ready for another night of dancing. Now that his song was over, even Bruno found himself excited. Strictly really was a glittery bubble where sadness and depression could be taken away, temporarily. 

As usual, the standard of dancing that night was incredibly high. The competition was so tight this year - Motsi could see almost anyone that was left clinching the title, and they all deserved it, in her mind. In her mind there was no such thing as a winner who did not deserve it - all of them worked tirelessly every week to produce showstopping performances in a hope to impress the judges. There was Kelvin, who had been consistently good every week, and who she kind of hoped would win, though she would never admit that as she would be branded biased by those viewers who were absolutely convinced that Motsi favoured her sister. There was Karim, who also had week after week performed amazingly. There was Emma, who hadn't been in a single dance off, and was partnered with a pro that so many viewers craved to see win. There was Chris, whose dancing had improved the most out of everyone's- from 13 in the first week to more than double that most weeks. There was Saffron, who was a young, popular star. Yes, she had been in the dance off the week before, but that wasn't to say she had zero chance of winning - there had been plenty of celebrities on Let's Dance who were in the bottom two or bottom three on at least one occasion and had gone on to win the show. And there was Alex, who had improved a lot in confidence and dance and really worked hard every week to impress. Motsi honestly didn't mind who won - she would be thrilled for whoever it was, because she knew how much it meant. 

Before the dancing began, however, Tess and Claudia had an announcement to make to the audiences. It had already been posted on social media earlier that day, but they repeated said announcement for the benefit of those who hadn't already heard the news. Saffron had passed out in the last minute rehearsals earlier that day, and though there was nothing seriously wrong with her, the doctors had advised her to not dance that night to give her body some rest. Therefore, she would be given a bye through to the next week. She was absolutely gutted that she wasn't going to be able to perform the dance she had been working so hard on with AJ all week, but she knew that she had to do what the doctors told her. The 19 year old had left a short and sweet video message saying that she was feeling much better and was determined to be back fighting for her place in the competition next week, which reassured her fans greatly. 

Karim and Kelvin shared the top spot that night, both receiving 38 points from the judges - Karim two 9s and two 10s, and Kelvin three 10s and an 8. They both danced a couple's choice, but the dances were completely different from one another - Kelvin danced street, whereas Karim opted for a slow, elegant contemporary dedicated to his mother. Emma, dressed as Marilyn Monroe, performed a quickstep to Sparkling Diamonds, and though she ended up second from bottom on the leaderboard (a rather dangerous position to be in especially so late in the competition), Motsi was proud of what she had done that night. The bottom spot was occupied by Alex, after her Argentine tango (the first this series) went wrong following an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction. Motsi's heart went out to her - she could see how upset the woman was and how disappointed in herself she was, and so tried to speak to her and critique her as gently and kindly as possible. The south African beauty knew what it was like to mess up, go blank, make a small mistake that led to the whole dance being affected - she had been in that position more times than she could count across her dancing career. It was a terrifying feeling, and that was why she always tried to be positive, gentle and kindly when she gave her critiques on Let's Dance. Though she admired how Joachim wasn't afraid to give his honest opinion with no fucks given, and speak his mind, she did think that on some occasions he could be just that little bit too harsh on certain contestants. 

There was no elimination that night, due to Saffron being given a bye to the next week. Next week, they would have a double elimination - something that had not been done on strictly for years. No elimination meant that they were finished with the show earlier. Instead of the musical guest of the week performing in the results show, they had them come on at the end of the show, making up the time that would have been occupied by Saffron dancing if she had been well enough to do so. This week they had Andrea Bocelli performing a number called "Time To Say Goodbye", and then it was time for a very special performance indeed. 

Earlier this year, a new show called "The Greatest Dancer" had begun, a show on which undiscovered dancers had the chance to perform weekly in front of judges in a bid to win the prize of £50,000 and a chance to perform on Strictly Come Dancing. Oti was part of this show as a judge, and last series, she had been the winning mentor. She had been victorious with a fourteen year old girl named Ellie Ferguson who performed some simply beautiful contemporary routines. Ellie was there that night to perform, and it was safe to say that she was incredibly excited, but at the same time, very nervous. Performing on strictly had been her dream for years, and now was her big chance. There was no way she could afford to mess up a single one of her steps. 

She had no need to worry though, for she performed beautifully to the same song as Ashley danced her freestyle last year to. Oti stood at the side of the stage throughout the performance, and every time Motsi looked over, she could see her sister literally bursting with pride. And when the performance ended, every single member of the audience on their feet, Oti ran onto the floor with the biggest smile on her face and embraced the girl tightly. Almost lifting her clean off the floor, Oti didn't hold back in telling Ellie how amazing her performance was before gesturing to her and getting the audience to give her another round of applause. 

It was the perfect end to another wonderful night. 

.. 

It was the first time in the series of Strictly so far that Joachim had watched the show with his stepdaughter and wife, as well as Jorge. His stepdaughter, Katharina, usually spent Saturday nights with her friends. The fourteen year old generally went to the cinema or late-night shopping with her girlfriends, and often stayed over at one of their houses, which Joachim and his wife were more than happy to let her do. This meant that she didn't watch Strictly with Joachim and Jorge, but she did watch it by herself most weeks, and then discussed it with her stepdad at a later time. Though she adored dancing and watching it on TV (and was now extremely glad that she was old enough to go and watch Let's Dance live), the main reason she watched it was because of Motsi. Not only was the south African beauty a close friend of the Llambi family, but Motsi actually used to be the young girl's dance teacher, and she got on very well with her. Joachim had asked Motsi, several years ago, whether she would give Kitty some dance lessons, as she had expressed a strong desire to learn how to dance. Motsi had become a private teacher for her, had worked with her for a time and taught her so much about dance, and the young girl was forever grateful to her for that. 

Joachim's wife often went out on Saturday nights as well with work colleagues - Friday night was family night, but Saturday night was the night where the three Llambis went in their different directions and did different things. But tonight, both were at home, along with Jorge who had come over, and they had watched strictly all together. It had actually been so much fun, watching it as a family. They had different favourites - Katharina was very much a Karim fan like Roman, and wanted him and Amy to lift the glitterball in a few weeks, whilst Jorge of course loved Kelvin, and so did Joachim, and Joachim's wife wanted Emma to win. They had had very divisive opinions on Bruno's little singing moment as well - Jorge had absolutely loved it and had been in seventh heaven watching it, whereas his wife hadn't been a fan at all, same with Katharina. Joachim himself had enjoyed it as a performance - he didn't think that Bruno was a fantastic person with massive potential to be the next biggest singer out there, but he didn't think he was awful and had massive respect for the Italian for giving it a go. 

Joachim could hardly believe that next weekend he and Jorge would actually be sitting in that studio, watching Motsi live. He and Jorge had been discussing the possibility of going to watch almost from the second that she got the call backstage at Let's Dance to inform her that she had been appointed as a judge on the show, and then had finally decided on a week and confirmed it with Oti just before Halloween. And the fact that Motsi not only would be appearing in the group dance, but would also be teaming up with two couples for the judges team up challenge, made the German-Spaniard and the Cuban so glad that they had chosen musicals week. 

At that moment, Joachim's phone rang, and the German-Spaniard quickly picked it up, knowing that it would be Motsi before he even looked at the contact. 

"Now, remember," Joachim addressed his wife and stepdaughter, "Motsi has no idea that Jorge and I are going over there next weekend, so whatever you do, do not give it away!" 

After both promised not to say a word, Joachim answered the call and immediately, Motsi's face popped up onto the screen. 

"Hello, guys!" she said in her usual cheerful tone. "How are you..? Did you enjoy the show?" 

"Is that even a question? Of course we did, chica!" Jorge exclaimed. "I'm so sorry that Saffron wasn't well enough to dance this week, but I'm so glad that we will be seeing Kelvin in musicals week. I would have been absolutely gutted had two of my faves gone out two weeks in a row." 

"What did you think of Bruno's singing? Let me guess, Jorge.. you loved it..?" 

"What do you expect?" Joachim laughed, answering before the Cuban could do so. "He was in seventh heaven watching that performance. And whilst I thought that he wasn't the best singer in the world and thought that maybe there were one too many feather boas used in that performance, I actually enjoyed it." 

"I'm sorry," Joachim's wife entered the conversation, "but I can't say I was a fan." 

"Me neither," Katharina agreed in her clear voice, looking up from her phone, where she had been messaging one of her close friends. "But massive respect to him for trying and giving the singing a go.. I know myself how hard it is to perform in front of people. Especially when it's not in your comfort zone." She paused. "I really did love.. what was her name again?" 

"Who?" 

"That young girl who performed on the show. About my age.." 

"Oh, Ellie! She was on a dance show in the UK earlier this year and won.. and her prize was to dance on the show. Oti mentored her." 

"She was really amazing! So much confidence, and I really loved the whole dance.. you know I love that style so much." With that, Katharina got up from the sofa. "Papa.." she preferred to call Joachim that, rather than by his name, and always had done, "I'm going to go and have a shower ahead of tomorrow, if that's alright?" 

Joachim nodded, and after saying goodbye to Motsi, the fourteen year old brunette girl made her way up the stairs to the bathroom. 

"He did do so well," Motsi agreed, with a nod. "Unfortunately people are being really nasty about it online though.. saying some beastly stuff." 

Twitter was a critical place, that was true, but this week it seemed even more critical than usual. People had branded this week underwhelming and boring, and had slammed the judges for overmarking certain couples and undermarking others. Craig had been criticised for being too harsh on everyone - and Motsi agreed that he had been harsher than usual tonight, but not harsh just for the sake of being harsh. People had even made comments about Saffron, saying that if she couldn't perform, then she should just drop out the competition. But the meanest comments of all were about Bruno. People were being so negative about his singing, completely condemning his efforts, claiming he ruined a much-loved song. Motsi wasn't the type to search her name these days, she knew just how damaging that behaviour was, but she couldn't help but see some of the comments that came up due to the fact that she was tagged in them too. She hoped that Bruno wasn't reading them, that he hadn't seen the cruel opinions on his singing - okay, he hadn't sung incredibly, but it was obvious he had enjoyed himself in the end, even if the song had been hard to get through, and singing wasn't something he was trained in. And he had been feeling down enough recently - this was the very last thing that the Italian needed in his life. 

"Social media is toxic. No matter what any of us do, we can never do anything right." Joachim spoke with rather a bitter tone. "I get constant hate because I can't dance according to people and because I'm just.. honest. Jorge gets hate because he dresses in a different way and because he's loud and bouncy and confident." He thought back to the time that Jorge had seriously considered changing his hairstyle, and had come in dressed like himself, all because people had been so nasty. Admittedly, Joachim would not be seen dead in a lot of what Jorge wore, it just not being his style at all, but he greatly admired the Cuban for having the confidence to wear what he wanted and not what society wanted him to. So seeing him wanting to change had been so hard. 

"Motsi, you get hate for being too loud and confident as well. And for - for other things as well." His voice cracked suddenly as he remembered some of the comments that had been made when it was revealed that Evgenij and Motsi had split. They were beyond cruel, many unfortunately blaming Motsi for what happened, and Joachim would never forget some of the things they said to her and how upset they had made her. He considered social media a toxic place, and that was why he was a private person, who spent most of the year firmly off of social media, popping in every now and again to post pictures of TV shows that he did, the occasional picture of him and his friends, and of course, photos of him on the golf course - where he felt extremely happy. His eyes flashed as he dwelled on it - he was still angry over how a bunch of internet trolls had made his best friend feel even worse in one of the hardest times of her life. 

"It just seems nobody can ever do right in the eyes of the public." 

Then, smiling, he sat back in his chair, deciding to change the subject before he went off on a real rant about how much he loathed social media. 

"Anyway, tell us about your team dance. Tell us what ideas you have planned! We need to know everything." 

"Yeah, we need to know what we will be seeing you do next week!" Jorge broke off as Joachim kicked him in the ankle, shooting him a look that read What was that for? 

"I'm so excited to watch next week! I'll try get the family to watch on the sofa with us again," Joachim covered up for Jorge, though actually the Cuban hadn't been going to reveal what was happening next Saturday. He sometimes found it hard to keep secrets, and heaven knows he was absolutely dying to spill the beans to his best friend, but he wouldn't have told her this secret for the world. 

"Okay, I'll tell you," Motsi laughed, "but you have to promise me you won't give anything away to anybody." 

"We promise," Joachim and Jorge said in unison, and Joachim's wife nodded from across the room, promising she too would keep the details confidential. 

Motsi leaned in closer. "Okay, so these are my ideas." 

And with that, she began to talk about the ideas she had had for Team Mabuse and whoever its members might be, whilst the Cuban and the German-Spaniard listened intently, beyond excited for next Saturday to arrive.


	37. chasing cars

The next week on strictly was going to be a very exciting one indeed for the judges. Every series at around the same time, the couples all participated in a danceathon, where they all danced a certain dance style on the floor at the same time and got voted off one by one by the judges or ranked in order of excellence. It was something that they did on Let's Dance as well, and Motsi always looked forward to them, for the results could often be very surprising indeed. 

They had done all sorts of styles during these danceathons over the years, from the cha cha to last year's Lindy Hop, and they had always somehow managed to turn the leaderboard on its head... and cause controversy. Especially last year. As Shirley was getting ready to announce the Lindy Hop results, disaster struck. The technology stopped working suddenly, and so it had been up to Craig to act fast and scribble down everyone's rankings on a piece of paper. It had been a few moments of great anxiety for the jury, particularly for Shirley.. but fortunately many people had seen the funny side of the fiasco, and everything had turned out well in the end with Ashley winning and Lauren coming bottom. 

But this year, for the first time, these danceathons were going to be scrapped and instead, team dances with the judges were going to be implemented. Each judge would be given two couples - except for Shirley who was not allowed to dance this year due to her recent surgery - and then they would have to create a routine for them and perform in it themselves in some way. Motsi was super excited about this prospect, and thought back to when she had done it on let's dance earlier this year. Having been given Pascal and Ella, who came first and second respectively in the series, she had received a perfect score from both Joachim and Jorge, and won the challenge. Their dance had been a mixture of pasodoble and rumba set to Gangsta's Paradise and everyone had been mightily impressed by it, and Motsi had been really proud of what they had achieved together. Jorge and Joachim had also created fantastic routines - Team Gonzalez had performed a salsa and cha cha fusion to Quimbara by Celia Cruz, and had been runners-up with 18/20. Joachim's team came last with their cha cha and rumba fusion to the famous song YMCA, receiving 16/20 in total, and Motsi recalled how she had been convinced that a rumba could never be performed to the famous dance number by the Village People. She had wondered if her German-Spanish friend had gone mad, using music so inappropriate for the dance style.. but she had been very pleasantly surprised when the band performed a really slowed-down section of the song for the rumba parts. 

Right now, Motsi was dressed in training clothes, coffee in hand, walking to the studio to find out who her team was. Sunglasses covered her eyes and she hoped they would make her less recognisable, for it was early in the morning. She had had a good rest yesterday to rejuvenate herself after a long week doing the Let's Dance tour and strictly last week, but she knew that she looked less than her best currently. 

She guessed that Kelvin and Oti wouldn't be on her team, but any of the others were likely. She would dearly have loved to work with Oti and Kelvin, but she knew there was a slim chance of that, especially after the article that had been written about her and Oti in Blackpool. Some people were obsessed with the idea that Motsi was biased against her sister, and so she presumed that the producers wouldn't want to fuel those rumours by putting them on Team Mabuse. Of all those that were left, she expected she would get Alex and Emma - the girls - or maybe Chris. 

So imagine her shock when she put her head round the door and saw her sister standing there with Kelvin by her side - and found that her other teammates were Karim and Amy! 

"I didn't think I was going to get you guys!!" Motsi told Kelvin and Oti, as she greeted them all with an elated look on her face as the cameraman stood there, getting footage. Of course she wasn't biased, but the idea of dancing with her sister made her so happy. 

"Neither did we," Oti laughed, and it was true - she and Kelvin had expected to get either Bruno or Craig. "So, what dance are we doing?" 

"We are doing.." Motsi paused for dramatic effect, "a contemporary-based freestyle." 

Karim, who had done contemporary the previous week, grinned at that, and Kelvin, who had chosen street for his couples choice but had also wanted to do contemporary, grinned as well. Oti had only ever done contemporary once during her time on let's dance and strictly - and that was with her first ever partner on Let's Dance: Daniel. Her other partner on the German TV show, Niels, had been out in the second week and had not had the time to perform that style. On Strictly.. contemporary wasn't a thing when Jonnie, Anthony and Danny were on it, and Graeme had chosen jazz for his couples choice. And Kelvin of course hadn't chosen it, opting for street. So her excitement at her sister's announcement was next-level. 

"Glad to see you're happy about that," Motsi chuckled. She had been slightly unsure of herself and what she had created at first, but since she discussed her ideas in detail with Joachim and Jorge the other night, she had begun to have confidence. 

"And what's the song..?" 

"Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol," Motsi revealed, with a huge smile. 

The idea seemed to find favour with all of the team members, and Karim revealed that he loved that song and had once sung it in a talent contest back at school. 

"I'm sure my mum's still got some footage of that somewhere," he laughed, "but we shall not mention it again, because it's probably the most embarrassing thing ever." 

"As much as I would like to stand around chatting all day," Motsi took on a stern expression, interrupting their laughter, "we need to get to work if we are ever going to get this perfect by Saturday. Because I have no intention of losing to Craig and Bruno!" 

Laughing at how Motsi had transformed into firm dance teacher right before their eyes, Oti, Kelvin, Karim and Amy took their places, ready to learn the routine. 

"Okay, so it starts like this.." 

.. 

"Okay, I'm really impressed with how much progress we've made today. Yes, there is still a lot of work to be done, but we've come a long way since this morning. I'll see you all back here tomorrow at 3pm sharp - keep practicing." 

With that, the south African beauty gathered up her stuff and headed out the door, exhausted. Karim and Amy also headed out the door, headed for their training studio ten minutes away, deciding to get in some extra rehearsals for their jive this weekend. Kelvin and Oti stayed behind, having had the same idea. So close to the finals now, neither of them wanted to go home, and they knew that anything less than perfect was unacceptable at this stage in the competition. And the only way they would reach perfection was by doing as much training and putting as many hours in as possible. 

In one of their breaks, Craig had agreed to meet up with Motsi for dinner at a restaurant not too far from both of their houses, and so she hailed a taxi and made her way there now, absolutely starving and needing something filling. They had invited Bruno, but he hadn't wanted to come. It had been a shame to hear that, but Motsi completely understood what he was going through, for she had been the same.

Climbing into the taxi, glad she could hail one quickly for it was pouring with rain, Motsi settled back on the seat and turned on her phone for the first time since their last break, three hours ago. 

Jorge 🍌: how are the rehearsals going, chica? Who did you get on your team?! Did you get Kelvin and Oti?! PLEASE tell me you got Kelvin and Oti!!! 

Motsi 💃🏿: have you changed your contact name, Jorge ??? 😂

Jorge 🍌: I absolutely have!! 

Joachim ⚀: yeah, he has.. to the most disgusting fruit to exist 🤮

Joachim ⚀: well.. equal with kiwi fruit. 

Jorge 🍌: Llambi, you eat raisin bread ... you don't get an opinion. 

Motsi 💃🏿: all right all right !!! To answer your question, Jorge ... the rehearsals went really well !!! And yes !! I did get kelvin and Oti and I was so surprised !!! I was so not expecting it .. you know what the papers have been saying about my favouritism towards my sister !!! 

Joachim ⚀: oh yeah, that bullshit. 

Jorge 🍌: yes!! My favourite judge and my favourite couple in one team!!! Can Saturday please hurry up? 😎

Motsi 💃🏿: I really hope you love it Jorge !!! I'm just on my way to have dinner with Craig right now ... we said we would have dinner together today after training . I cant wait to find out who he has got !!! 

Jorge 🍌: have a wonderful evening chica!! I am doing absolutely nothing tonight - except walking the love of my life 😎🐶

Joachim ⚀: I'm having dinner with my family, and then we are going to watch a new series on TV. Enjoy your evenings guys! 

Motsi 💃🏿: you too - love you both ❤❤❤

Jorge 🍌: ❤❤❤❤

The taxi pulled up outside the restaurant a few moments after the final text from Jorge was sent and Motsi stepped out after thanking the driver, pulling up the hood on her coat. Craig was already sitting at a table inside, waiting for her, still in his training clothes - he too had come straight from the studios. 

"So, who did you get?" Motsi questioned, after a brief hug. 

"Alex and Neil, and Emma and Anton," replied Craig, as they ordered themselves a round of drinks and asked for the menus. 

"Bruno got Chris and Saffron then. Because I got Karim and Kelvin! And I wasn't expecting to get Kelvin at all, I thought they wouldn't give him to me because of Oti being my sister and there already being rumours that I'm biased.." 

"Very untrue rumours. It's obvious you aren't biased at all." 

"Oh, the public will say anything to try and cause controversy. I'm used to it now," Motsi laughed. "So, tell me, Craig. What dance are you doing?" 

"We're dancing to Greatest Love Of All, and I'm actually really excited for it," Craig said, with a smile at the mention of one of his favourite songs. "And I might have a small surprise in store for the audience.." 

"What's that..?" Motsi asked with curiosity, wondering just what that surprise was. 

Craig grinned. "I might be singing the whole song." 

"No way!" Motsi cried, practically jumping out of her seat. "That's amazing! The audiences are going to absolutely love that!" 

"I really hope so, darling" Craig chuckled, pleased at his colleague's positive reaction to this revelation. "I think they'll be surprised.. nobody really knows that I sing, so.." 

"That sounds simply amazing! I can't wait to see it, and I know that you'll be fantastic with your singing. We're doing a contemporary-based freestyle to Chasing Cars," Motsi revealed, as a glass of water was placed in front of her, along with a menu. "I'm interested to see what Team Tonioli will be doing." 

"What an incredible song! I love it," Craig clapped his hands together. "And I already know what Team Tonioli is doing! He mentioned it to me right at the start of the series his plans for his group dance." 

"Which are..?" 

"Freestyle to I'm Still Standing.. you know, it's really like his song, as he was in the music video for it. He's also said before that that would be a routine he would love to create, if we ever implemented team dances." 

"That will be iconic!" Motsi cried, imagining the dance inside her head and wondering whether it would stick to the theme of the music video, or whether it would stray away. She began to skim-read the options on the menu, wondering what to order. 

"You've done team dances before on Let's Dance, haven't you..?" Craig questioned, a few moments later, once they had both ordered their food - a bowl of pasta each. 

"Yes.. this year we did it for the first time. And I loved the addition!" 

"And how did Team Mabuse do..?" 

Motsi smiled. "Actually.. they won with 20/20." 

"So Bruno and I are going up against the reigning champion then!" Craig teased, and Motsi laughed. "What dance did you do..?" 

"A paso doble and rumba fusion to Gangsta's Paradise. Jorge's team did a salsa and cha cha fusion to Quimbara - you know, the song Michelle and Giovanni danced to. And Joachim's team did a cha cha and rumba fusion to YMCA." 

Craig's eyebrows furrowed. "How does one dance a rumba to YMCA?" 

"I literally thought exactly that! I even said to him - 'Herr Llambi, my dear friend, are you mad? How do you do a rumba to YMCA?' But there was a whole slowed-down part in the middle and his team were actually brilliant." 

"Definitely not a song choice I would have gone for - but well done to him for making it work!" Craig praised, taking a sip of his drink. 

They fell into another contented silence, waiting for their food to arrive, before Motsi finally broke it by asking, "Are you looking forward to the group dance on Saturday?" 

Craig grinned. For the first time in fifteen years of judging on the show, he had been asked to be the lead in a group dance. Every musicals week, the professional dancers performed several showstopping routines, and this year, one of them was to be Hello Dolly themed. Craig had been approached by the producers around the same time as Bruno was asked to sing, asking him if he would be Dolly Levi. He had immediately agreed, and though he was slightly nervous about being the lead, he couldn't wait to perform, in full drag, on Saturday night. 

Motsi too was to dance in the group dance, partnered with Kevin. Bruno was also going to be dancing and Shirley had originally been dancing in it too, but for obvious reasons she was unable to now. She was gutted to have to miss out on being part of a team dance and the group dance, but she knew that she had to stay safe. There was no way that she wanted to set herself back in her recovery or cause herself any damage - she wanted to be completely fit and healthy for panto, which was starting soon. 

"Of course I am! I'm so excited for it." 

"Same here! And you're going to be amazing as Dolly Levi." 

"I wouldn't go that far, but I'm definitely looking forward to my little cameo." Craig grinned as two large bowls of tomato pasta were placed in front of them. 

"That's perfect, thank you. Enjoy, Mabuse darling! We should do this more often." 

"Yeah," Motsi nodded, a smile on her face as she began to eat her pasta. "We should." 

..

"I actually can't wait to see her face on Saturday," Jorge said to Joachim, as they packed their suitcases whilst on video call to one another. It was Wednesday night, and tomorrow was officially the day when they would fly from Germany to the UK, ready to watch musicals week of strictly in the studio, and they were both so excited. "I just know how happy she is going to be when she sees us and I can't wait for her to realise that we're going to be there to watch her not only judge, but dance in the Hello Dolly group number and dance her team dance!" 

"It's going to be a very exciting week indeed," Joachim nodded, as he finished packing his one small suitcase, that just held clothes, toiletries, and a few books to read. "And much as Craig and Bruno are lovely.. I really hope Motsi wins the team up challenge." 

"She will. Her team dance at Let's Dance this year was just incredible... and the fact she has Kelvin and Karim on her team definitely makes me think that she's in with a chance of winning, as they're the two best contestants," replied Jorge, smiling as he thought back to the team dances they had all done earlier that year on Let's Dance. 

"Jorge, will you ever learn to travel light..?" Joachim snorted suddenly, as he caught sight of the two huge suitcases and backpack that the Cuban was putting in the corner of his room. 

"Joachim, we are gone for three weeks..! Well, me for three, you for two," replied Jorge, "so I think that I need to pack quite a bit, don't you..?" 

Joachim didn't respond, merely rolling his eyes. 

"Papa!" A voice came from along the corridor, and Joachim quickly excused himself before going onto the landing to find out why he was wanted. 

"What is it?" he asked, 

"Is it all right if I go over to Lola's tomorrow night after school..?" Katharina asked, her head around her bedroom door. "We're going to work on a geography project together." 

"It's not up to me, I'm not going to be here tomorrow evening. I've not got any problems with you going, but you need to ask your mum," Joachim responded. 

Katharina smiled. "Thank you, Papa. I'll go talk to her now." 

With that, the brunette headed down the stairs to talk to her mum, and Joachim retreated back into his bedroom to continue getting his stuff together. 

"All okay?" Jorge, who was now lazing on his bed with his dog Paco climbing all over him, questioned.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Kitty just wanted to know if she could go to her friend's tomorrow after school to work on a project, and I told her I've got no problems with it, but that she needed to ask her mum because I'm not going to be there tomorrow," the German-Spaniard repeated almost word for word the conversation he had just had with his stepdaughter. "Right, so let's run through the plans for tomorrow. I take Katharina to school for 8.30, then I'll go to the golf course and get in a round of golf before coming home. Then I'll pick you up from your house at 3.30, and then we'll get going to the airport. Our flight is at 6pm, and we'll get picked up from the airport in the UK by Oti and Marius. Then we go back to theirs." 

"Sounds perfect," Jorge nodded, laughing as Paco began to lick his face. "I'm going to really miss this one, you know." 

"I know." Joachim knew just how much Jorge missed his little dog when they were apart for an extended period of time. "But he and José will have a wonderful time together," he continued, referring to Jorge's best friend and stylist, who lived not that far away. He often offered to look after Paco when Jorge was abroad, something the Cuban really appreciated, and Paco absolutely adored José. 

"Yeah, they will," nodded Jorge, though he still looked sad. "I'll still miss him though." 

"I know you will," Joachim said in a sympathetic tone. "Have I told you how excited I am for the next couple of weeks?" 

"Around 10,000 times.. but I've told you the same about 10,000 times myself.." Jorge laughed, cheering up. "We really have got so much to look forward to over the next few weeks. Seeing Motsi at strictly, going to see Craig and Shirley in panto, meeting all the strictly cast.. we really are going to have the best time." 

"Yeah, we are," Joachim smiled, before hearing his wife begin to call him from downstairs. "Hold on a minute, the wife is calling me. Yes?" he opened the door and called down the stairs pleasantly. 

"That new series you like is on in five minutes!" his wife called back, making Jonathan slap his forehead. 

"I almost forgot about that! I'll be down in a minute - thank you!" he yelled, before going back into his bedroom, grateful he had indeed finished his packing. 

"Right, Jorgito, I'm going to get going, because the new episode of this new series I've been watching since we got back from tour is on and we're all going to watch it as a family," Joachim told his Cuban friend. "I'll be at yours at 3.30, okay? Be ready." 

"I will be, don't you worry, Llambi," replied Jorge, sitting up on his bed once more. "See you tomorrow. Only one more sleep!" 

"You sound like I used to sound on Christmas Eve," laughed Joachim. "Right, see you tomorrow, okay?" 

"Indeed you will. Adios, Llambi, mi amigo," Jorge waved, and the call was cut off. 

And with that the German-Spaniard made his way down the stairs to the lounge, ready to spend one last night with his little family before his two week long trip to the UK.

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter! I hope you all liked it. My chapters on here are going to be much shorter than my chapters on TLG, my other fanfiction - those can get ridiculously long sometimes. 
> 
> Let me know what you think! Constructive feedback is always welcome. 
> 
> I'll post the next chapter soon!!


End file.
